i 



I 



i 



I 

I 

i 



i 



1 
I 

! 

I 

i 




BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



OF 



Eminent Itinerant l^inistcrs 



DISTINGUISHED, FOR THE MOST PART, AS 



PIONEERS OF METHODISM 



WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF 



THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH, SOUTH. 



EDITED BY 



THOMAS 0? SUMMERS, D.D. 



SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 

3 859. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by 
E. STEVENSON & F. A. OWEN, 
In the Office of the Clerk of the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. 



STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY A. A. STITT, 
SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE, NASHVILLE, TENN. 



CONTENTS. 



FRANCIS ASBURY, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By William 

M. Wightman, D.D., of the South Carolina Conference 11 

WILLIAM McKENDREE, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By 

Alexander L. P. Green, D.D., of the Tennessee Conference 43 

WILLIAM CAPERS, D.D., Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

By William M. Wightman, D.D., of the South Carolina Conference 75 

HENRY B. BASCOM, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South. By William M. Wightman, D.D., of the South Carolina 
Conference 93 

ROBERT L. KENNON, M.D., of the Alabama Conference. By Bishop An- 
drew 113 

WILLIAM M. KENNEDY, of the South Carolina Conference. By the Rev. 

James Stacy, of the South Carolina Conference 131 

HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, D.D., of the North Carolina Conference. By the 

Rev. Robert 0. Burton, of the North Carolina Conference 165 

VALENTINE COOK, A.M., of the Kentucky Conference. By Edward Ste- 
venson, D.D., of the Louisville Conference 183 

THOMAS L. DOUGLASS, of the Tennessee Conference. By John B. M'Fer- 

rin, D.D., of the Tennessee Conference 203 

JOHN LANE, of the Mississippi Conference. By Benjamin M. Drake, D.D., 

of the Mississippi Conference 229 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



RICHMOND NOLLEY, Missionary to Louisiana. By the Rev. Holland N. 

M'Tyeire, of the Louisiana Conference 253 

JOHN SLADE, of the Florida Conference. By the Rev. Peyton P. Smith, of 

the Florida Conference 279 

EZRA C. THORNTON, of the Western Virginia Conference. By the Rev. 

Staunton Field, of the Western Virginia Conference 291 

IGNATIUS A. FEW, LL.D., of the Georgia Conference. By the Rev. Alex- 
ander Means, M.D., of the Georgia Conference... 301 

MARTIN RUTER, D.D., first Superintendent of the Missions of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in Texas. By his daughter, Mrs. S. R. Campbell, wife 
of the Rev. Lewell Campbell, of the Mississippi Conference 321 

WILLIAM W. REDMAN, of the Missouri Conference. By the Rev. Andrew 
Monroe, of the Missouri Conference 367 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is not the design of the present volume to encourage 
"hero-worship." There is a glorying in man which is de- 
nounced as idolatry, because it derogates from the glory of 
God. This we would carefully avoid. And yet the apostle 
speaks of " the messengers of the Churches," as " the 
glory of Christ ;" and as such, while hving, they are to be 
" esteemed very highly in love for their work's sake," and 
surely when dead they ought not to be forgotten. " The 
righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance." 

" Let us praise famous men," says Sirach. " The Lord 
hath wrought great glory by them — leaders of the people 
by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet 
for the people, wise and eloquent in their instructions — the 
glory of their times. There be of them that have left a 
name behind them, that their praises might be reported. 
Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for 
evermore. The people will tell of their wisdom, and the 
congregation will show forth their praise." But, says he, 
" Some there be who have no memorial, who are perished 
as though they had never been." 

(vii) 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

How pertinently these reflections apply to the fathers of 
Methodism is sufficiently obvious. Alas ! many of them 
who were famous in their times have no memorial. But 
others of them have left a name behind them, and one 
which we, as their spiritual posterity, would not willingly 
let die. 

It is not indeed our purpose to "praise" these "famous 
men," only as this is unavoidably done in tracing their 
holy and useful lives. It is difficult to sketch the charac- 
ters of men whom we greatly esteem, without indulging 
somewhat in eulogy and panegyric. This may, perhaps, be 
observed in some of these sketches; but if so, we can 
assure the reader it was not the design of the volume. The 
sketches were written, for the most part, by the personal 
friends of the subjects of them ; and some allowance must, 
of course, be made for the partialities of friendship. This 
being granted, we do not hesitate to express our belief that 
they are all faithful portraits, and valuable contributions to 
our religious biography. Going back to the heroic age of 
American Methodism, and tracing its rise and progress, as 
connected with the operations of its venerable pioneers in 
the South and South-west, they will be of no small value 
to the future historian of the Church. It is hoped that 
the record of their labors will quicken the zeal of those who 
have entered into them ; and the memorial of their godly 
lives will induce many of their spiritual descendants to 
" admire" the " portraits," " nor stop to admire, but imitate 
and live." 

In point of literary execution, as well as in regard to the 



INTRODUCTION. ix 

subjects of the sketches, there is, of course, a considerable 
disparity: this is the more observable, as the editorial pre- 
rogative has been exercised as sparingly as might be in 
preparing them for the press. The variety of style, it is 
thought, will add interest to the volume. 

The publishers made great efforts to obtain a sketch of 
one minister from every Conference in the Connection, and 
delayed the publication for this purpose ; but we regret to 
say they have been disappointed. Several honored names 
that were on our list have been consequently omitted : they 
may appear in a future volume, should the present be 
received with favor. 

Each sketch would have been accompanied with a por- 
trait of its subject, if it could have been procured ; but in 
many cases this was impossible. The engravings which 
are inserted are considered as good likenesses as our artists 
could execute from the best portraits we were able to 
procure. 

Nashville, Tenn., April 15, 1858. 



FRA^rCIS ASBUEY. 

BY WILLIAM M. WIGHTMANj D. D. 

Francis Asbury landed in PMladelpliia, October 27, 1771, 
He was an Englishman by birtli, bis native place being a few 
miles from Birmingbam. Just two years previously, Ricbard 
Boardman and Josepb Pilmoor bad landed at Gloucester 
Point, six miles below Pbiladelpbia. Tbey were tbe first 
missionaries sent by Mr. "Wesley to tbe American Colonies. 
Francis Asbury and Ricbard Wrigbt made up tbe second 
missionary supply. 

Application was subsequently made to Mr. Wesley to send 
Josepb Benson to tbe American continent. Providentially, 
as it now appears, tbis was not done. Mr. Benson was one 
of tbe most eminent of tbe lay preacbers in Wesley's Con- 
nection — a man of literary tastes and fine abilities. He 
would no doubt bave made bis mark in ISTew York, Pbila- 
delpbia, or Baltimore. But bis position would necessarily 
bave made Asbury' s subordinate. He could never bave 
done Asbury' s work. 

Tbe number of Metbodists in America in 1771 was less 

(11) 




12 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



than 600. They were found principallj in the cities of 
Philadelphia and I^ew York. Three years before Ashury's 
arrival, namel}^, in October, 1768, the first house of worship 
erected by the Methodists was built in John street, 'Sew York, 
and dedicated by Mr. Embury, a local preacher, and an im- 
migrant from Ireland. It was" 60 feet by 42, and took the 
place of the "rigging-loft" in William street, where the little 
society of Methodists had held their meetings at the be- 
ginning. Mr. Embury preached the first Methodist sermon 
ever delivered on the continent. It was in his own house in 
E"ew York, in 1766, and his congregation was made up of 
five hearers. 

Thus, sharply defined, as to time, place, and circumstance, 
was the rise of Methodism in this country. Small enough ! 
Eut there was vitality in the germ : it has in less than a cen- 
tury overrun the land. We are now to trace the leading 
human instrumentality in this prodigious development — the 
grandest Christianity has made since the times of the 
apostles. 

The year after Asbury's arrival, he was appointed by Mr. 
Wesley general assistant ; by virtue of which office he was 
to exercise a supervision over all the societies and preachers. 
Thus he became the prominent leader, and his oversight and 
labors were coextensive with the young but growing com- 
munity of societies. At this early period their afiairs were 
managed at quarterly meetings. 

In 1773, Messrs. Rankin and Shadford were sent from Eng- 
land as an additional supply of preachers ; and as Mr. Ran- 
Kin had been several years longer in the travelling ministry 
than Mr. Asbury, he was appointed by Wesley general as- 
sistant, in the place of the latter. 

In July, 1773, the first Conference was convened and held 



FRANCIS ASBURT. 



13 



its sessions in PMladelpliia. Ten travelling preachers were 
stationed attliis Conference ; and the numbers in society were 
reported at 1100. Mr. Asbnrj was appointed to Baltimore, 
but bis ministry was not confined to tbat city. He travelled 
extensively throughout Maryland, preaching and forming so- 
cieties. 

The second Conference was held in Philadelphia, May 25th 
of the next year, and seven American -born preachers were 
admitted on trial. This brought the number of travelling 
preachers to seventeen, and the number of members had in- 
creased to 2073. 

The new chief, Eankin, was a Scotchman, a rigid disciplin- 
arian, inclined to be arbitrary in his rule, and withal, a some- 
what poor preacher. He did not exactly understand the 
American character, and Asbury found it necessary to ex- 
postulate with him in respect to his occasional bearing and 
measures. On the breakins: out of the war of the Revolu- 
tion, he and the other British preachers, except Asbury, left 
the country and returned home. 

Asbury had weighed the matter well, and made up his 
mind to give up his native country and identify his fortunes 
with those of American Methodism. This course entailed 
perils as well as privations. Wesley had published a pamph- 
let against the revolt of the Colonies, and his preachers in 
America could not fail to be subjected to popular odium. 
Asbury was known to be one of these preachers : his col- 
leagues had gone back to England ; one of them, Eodda, had 
been detected in circulating the king's proclamation on his 
circuit: it was no violent presumption, under the circum- 
stances, that the Methodists might be disafiPected toward the 
cause of American independence. And persecution was the 
natural result. Some of the native-born preachers were im- 



14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

prisoned, some beaten witL. brutal severity, and tlieir little 
flocks scattered. In this state of things, Mr. Asbury found 
himself compelled to leave Maryland and take refuge in Dela- 
ware, where, in the hospitable family of Judge White, he 
found protection and the kindest treatment. 

In March, 1778, this period of comparative inaction com- 
menced. In the latter part of the ensuing year, having been 
elected general assistant once more, he resumed his itinerant 
labors, which extended, in 1780, as far south as IsTorth Caro- 
lina. 

During the year just specified, his personal influence, judi- 
cious measures, and address, succeeded in arresting an in- 
cipient schism, occasioned by an earnest desire on the part 
of the societies and preachers in Virginia to have the sacra- 
ments administered. The Methodists had previously held a 
quasi connection with the Episcopal Church, which, in ante- 
revolutionary times, was part of the English Establishment. 
One of the results of the Declaration of Independence was 
to dissolve the Episcopal Establishment; and this left the 
members of the Methodist societies without any resource in 
the matter of the ordinances. This want the Virginia 
brethren undertook to supply. However laudable the de- 
sign, the action was undoubtedly premature. The interposi- 
tion of Asbury led to the suspension of a movement which 
must have hazarded, if not ended, the unity of Methodism. 
The process of disintegration was effectually arrested. 

In 1783, the war with Great Britain closed. It had en- 
grossed the public mind, and turned into political and mili- 
^ tary directions the course of public thought. But now the 
independence of the United States was acknowledged by the 
mother-country. The beneficial efiects of peace soon began 
to show themselves in the enlarged circle of religious opera- 



PRANCIS ASBURY. 



15 



tions opened to the preachers, and in an accession to the so- 
cieties of nearly 2000 members during the year 1784. 

The time was come for the organization of a church. 
There were under Asbury's oversight 83 preachers, and about 
15,000 members. We have traced the growth of American 
Methodism from its embryo state in 1766. In less than 
twenty years, it had reached a point at which the organic form 
took its proper shape, self-developed from the energy of the 
life that was in it. The expression of the combined elements 
of connectionalism, itinerancy, and general superintendency, 
was Episcopacy. 

Methodism began with religion in the heart. Its grand 
appeal was to the individual conscience. It delivered the 
testimony of the gospel with all possible stress : Eepent- 
ance toward G-od, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 
It sought to bring men from darkness to light, from sin to 
holiness. This was its first business ; and this it did without 
ordained ministers, without ordinances save the glorious 
gospel of the blessed Grod," without churches, and starting 
from a " rigging - loft" as its point of departure. The only 
aid it received in money was a donation of ,£50 from the 
English Conference. For the first eighteen years, it had not 
among its lay-preachers a single man of profound learning or 
extraordinary mental accomplishments. It was encountered 
at its outset by the commotions of a Revolution : its cradle 
was rocked by civil storm and tempest. "Who can fail to see 
that its strength stood in its religion f This was its differentia, 
its essential characteristic. Beginning with the religion of 
the heart, it began from within and worked outward — as 
genuine Christianity always does. The central functions, the 
vital forces of the system being in healthful play, it threw 
itself, not by mechanical force from without, but by spon- 



16 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



taueoiis energies from within, into those forms of organic life 
which were the visible extension and manifestation of Church- 
life, in polity, discipline, and sacraments. This is the philo- 
sophy of Methodist orders. To state the case fairly and plainly 
is a sufficient vindication ; and to the founders of the Ameri- 
can Methodist Church we may apply justly the fine remark 
of an historian in reference to the founders of the American 
nation : The result of their labors is eulogy enough : their 
best apology is to tell the story exactly as it was." 

" Dispassionately looked at," says Isaac Taylor, "Wesleyan 
Methodism did not so much violate, as it rendered an homage 
to, the principle of Church order; for if it broke in upon 
thins-s constituted vdth a violence that threatened to over- 
throw whatever might obstruct its course, it presently 
emerged from its own confusion, and stood forth as a finished 
pattern of organization, and an eminent example of the pre- 
valence and supremacy of i^ides. The enlightened adherents 
of ecclesiastical institutions might well persuade themselves 
to see in Methodism, not as they are wont, a horrible Vandal- 
ism, but the most emphatic recognition that has ever been 
made of the very core of Church principles, namely, that 
Christianity cannot subsist, does not develop its genuine 
powers, (longer than for a moment,) apart from an ecclesiasti- 
cal organization ; and this seems to mean nothing less than a 
well-compacted hierarchical system." 

"When urgent representations were made to "Wesley, upon 
the close of the Eevolutionary struggle, of the necessity that 
existed for a regularly-organized ministry among the Ameri- 
, can societies, his former scruples immediately gave way. The 
American Colonies were an independent Eepublic — the 
Bishop of London's control in the United States was for ever 
ended — the field was clear — no man's right, assumed or real, 



FRANCIS ASBURT. 



IT 



was invaded by tlie organization of a Methodist Churcli in 
tlie United States : then, as the founder and legislator of 
the Methodist body in Europe and America, he adopted for 
the American societies the primitive form of Church organ- 
ization, an Episcopacy jure humano, with the orders of Elders 
and Deacons. 

In this affair, due respect was paid to the important prin- 
ciple of the ministerial transmission of Christian ordinances 
and ministrations — Francis Asbury having been solemnly 
"set apart" by the imposition of the hands of those who 
themselves had been ordained ; while at the same time the 
whole transaction waged war to the knife with the Romish 
dogma of apostolico-succession ; since Wesley and the Eng- 
lish Presbyters who ordained Coke Bishop, were themselves 
only Presbyters of the Anglican Church. 

In the first point of view just referred to, it will be observed 
that while the call to the holy oflS.ce is primarily the work of 
the Holy Spirit, the recognition of this inward call, and the 
formal investiture of ministerial functions, comes from the 
existing ministry. The 23d Article of the Church of Eng- 
land expresses the Protestant doctrine on the subject: "It is 
not lawful for any man to take upon himself the office of 
public preaching, or ministering the sacraments in the con- 
gregation, before he is lawfully called and sent to execute 
the same." The Confessions of the Reformed Continental 
Churches teach the same doctrine. One of the special pre- 
rogatives of the ministry, then, by general consent, is "to 
examine and authenticate the qualifications of those who are 
to succeed them, and to set them apart to their office by the 
imposition of hands." In Episcopal Churches, this formal 
" setting apart" is committed to the chief ministers — ^Bishops, 

who in ordaining act as the organs of the Church. 
2 



18 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



In the second point of view, Asbury's consecration to tlae 
Episcopal office proceeded on the ground that Episcopacy is 
not a ministerial order jure Divino — by Divine prescription, 
of immutable obligation, and clothed with powers emanating 
directly from God, the channel of Christ's covenanted grace, 
and therefore indispensable to the existence of a Church; 
but an order jure ecdesiasiico, originating in the necessities of 
a connectional body of ministers and members, and holding 
the exclusive right of ordaining by commission from the 
Church. For this jure ecclesiastico claim, the precedent and 
practice of primitive Christianity may be adduced. For the 
jure Divino right, no solitary passage of Scripture can be 
pleaded. The papal theory alone is consistent on this point : 
the visible Church is a mediator between man and God, the 
impersonation of Christ, and a depository of grace, sacra- 
mental union with which alone gives us access to salvation : 
the ministry is a priesthood* its powers having come down 
by perpetual derivation from the apostles : the instrument of 
transmission is the " sacrament of orders," which is intrusted 
exclusively to the hands of a Bishop. This sacrament of 
orders impresses an "indelible character" upon the recipient, 
and confers sacerdotal grace for the performance of sacerdotal 
offices. Apart from the virtue of this "sacrament of orders" 
there can be no true sacraments, nor is there any absolution 
in the absence of a priest. There is no legitimate priest, 
therefore, without a Bishop ; and consequently no valid Chris- 
tianity outside of this apostolico-succession. This is a theory 
which one can understand. It is consistent as well as plain. 
It lacks but one thing : it is not true ! 

To this theory, premises, and conclusion, Methodism gives 
a distinct, unmistakable, utter refutation. It furnishes the 
demonstration that the spirit and life of Christianity, the 



PEANCIS ASBURY. 



19 



birtliriglit and blessing of true inward religion, is to be found 
outside of this pseudo - sacerdotal system of men and sacra- 
ments. It bas a priest, tbe "great Higb-Priest," no more to 
be exclusively appropriated by a single class of religionists, 
tban tbe ligbt and warmtb of tbe sun. It bas a sacrifice — 
tbat "once offered" — a sacrifice partaking of Divine perfec- 
tion, wanting notbing to supplement its efficacy ; unlimited 
in its power to save, and undiminisbed in tbe fulness of its 
merit tbrougb all generations of tbe world, and down to tbe 
end of time. Any otber priest, any otber sacrifice, is a grand 
impertinence. Wbat need bave we of otber sacerdotal offices 
wben our Higb-Priest is " able to save tbem to tbe uttermost 
tbat come unto God by bim, seeing be ever Uveth to make 
intercession for tbem." But tbe sacerdotal cbaracter elimi- 
nated, tben it is matter of not tbe sligbtest consequence 
wbetber tbe minister of Cbrist can trace bis genealogy to 
Linus, Anacletus, or Peter. His call to tbe ministry of re- 
conciliation is made by tbe Holy Gbost. Tbe office of tbe 
existing ministry is merely to verify tbat call and countersign 
bis title. 

Francis Asbury was ordained Deacon, Elder, and Bisbop 
at tbe Cbristmas Conference in 1784. To tbe Episcopal office 
be was elected by tbe unanimous suffrage of tbe Conference, 
and witb tbe bearty consent of tbe laity tbrougbout tbe Con- 
nection of societies. Tbis Connection now becomes a Cburcb, 
tbere being a regularly constituted Episcopacy to set apart 
preacbers duly recommended by an Annual Conference, and 
ordained ministers to administer tbe ordinances of God's 
bouse. Tbe bistorians of tbe United States are too mucb 
occupied witb tbe story of diplomatic affairs, treaties, cur- 
rency questions, articles of confederation, and tbe like, to 
notice tbis Cbristmas Conference, or to bestow a line on tbe 



20 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



principal figure in the group of pretensionless preachers con- 
vened in Baltimore. History has plenty of "patriotic rouge" 
to bedaub men whose element was war, and plenty of tinsel 
for small statesmen, fourth-rate orators, and petty traffickers 
in politics. It ignores the existence of a man whose life for 
nearly half a century was devoted exclusively to a manly, 
earnest, and most successful movement, telling directly and 
powerfully upon the foundation -principles of national and 
social well-being — upon the intellectual and moral progress 
of vast masses of the American people. His witness is with 
God, and his record on high. To have done things worthy 
to be wiitten in history more than compensates a truly great 
man for the omission of his name in historic records. 

By way of comparing dates, it may be worth while to men- 
tion, that while the Methodist Episcopal Church was organ- 
ized December 25, 1784, in the same year overtures were 
made to Franklin in Paris by the Pope's nuncio on the sub- 
ject of appointing a Bishop or Yicar- Apostolic for the United 
States ; to which Congress replied that they had nothing to 
do with a subject purely ecclesiastical. In 1786, the Pope 
appointed John Carroll, of Maryland, Yicar- Apostolic, who was 
subsequently consecrated Bishop of Baltimore. In 1789, a 
General Convention of Episcopalians was held, at which the 
constitution of the new Protestant Episcopal Church, which 
had been projected at two previous conventions, was ratified 
and completed. Bishops White and Provoost having been 
previously ordained by the English Bishops. In 1788, the 
Presbyterians arranged their Church - government on a na- 
tional basis, the Synod of E"ew York and Pennsylvania 
having been divided into four Synods, delegates from which 
annually met in a General Assembly. It may be added that 
there were at that time nine colleges in the United States, 



FRANCIS ASBURY. 21 

of which, three were controlled by the Episcopalians, three 
by Congregationalists, and one each by the Presbyterians, 
by the Reformed Dutch Church, and by the Baptists. 

On the 27th day of December, 1784, Asbury was conse- 
crated Bishop. The Conference adjourned on the 3d of 
January ; and on the 5th, he inaugurated his Episcopal min- 
istrations by riding on horseback fifty miles through frost 
and snow. His face was southward, and he was making his 
first visit to Charleston. 

On the 23d of February, he reached Georgetown, 8. C, 
where he was kindly received. The next day he preached 
there, and the word of God was carried with power to the 
heart of Mr. Wayne, a nephew of General A. Wayne, a dis- 
tinguished American ofiicer. Mr. Wayne immediately joined 
the Methodist Church, and thus the foundation for a society 
in Georgetown was laid. 

On the 26th he reached Charleston, having preached some 
fifteen or twenty sermons during the journey from Baltimore. 
This visit of Bishop Asbury was the introduction of Method- 
ism to Charleston. The earliest result of it was the conver- 
sion of Mr. Wells, the gentleman who had hospitably enter- 
tained the Bishop, to whom he bore a letter of introduction 
from Mr. Wayne. Thus was formed the nucleus of a Me- 
thodist Church in the Queen City of the South. Twelve 
years afterward, during one of Asbury' s visits to Charleston, 
Mr. Wells died in the faith of Jesus, testifying with his last 
words that "God was with him." His funeral-sermon was 
preached by the Bishop, who described him as a truly reli- 
gious man, "a gentleman of spirit and sentiment, and fine 
feelings, a faithful friend to the poor, and warmly attached to 
the ministers of the gospel." 

Bishop Asbury made thirty- seven subsequent visits to 



22 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Charleston — a fact illustrative of tlie deep interest lie took in 
the spread of Methodism at the South. 

Among the earliest recollections of the writer of this 
sketch, is a tolerably vivid impression of a venerable old man, 
shrunk and wrinkled, wearing knee-breeches and shoe- 
buckles, dressed in dark drab, whose face to a child's eye 
would have seemed stern but for the gentleness of his voice 
and manner toward the little people. It was the custom of 
my honored and sainted mother, no doubt at the instance of 
the Bishop himself, to send her children to pay him a visit 
whenever he came to the city. The last one was made in 
company with my two younger brothers. The Bishop had 
some apples on the mantelpiece of the chamber where the 
little group of youngsters, the eldest only some seven years 
old, were introduced. After a little religious talk suitable to 
our years and capacity, the venerable man put his hands on 
our heads, one after another, with a solemn prayer and bless- 
ing, and dismissed us, giving the largest apple to the smallest 
child, in a manner that left upon me a life -long impression. 
I remember, too, how he was carried into Trinity Church, 
and placed upon a high stool, and with trembling voice de- 
livered his last testimony there. An incident trifling in itself 
may powerfully illustrate character ; and the foregoing shows 
the attention which the Chief of a Church, extending from 
Canada to Georgia, with cares innumerable occupying his 
thoughts, in age and extreme feebleness, was accustomed to 
pay to children — little children. This, too, not so much on ac- 
count of any extraordinary fondness for children, but because 
in these little ones he saw future recruits for Christ, and 
desired to have religious impressions made upon them in 
their earliest years. His attentions won their confidence, 
and indirectly but powerfully increased his hold upon the 



FRANCIS ASBURY. 



23 



affections of parents. He lived to see multitudes of children's 
children who could remember with solemn joy his interest 
in them, his advices and prayers. 

His frequent visits to Charleston developed another re- 
markable trait in his character — his attention to the religious 
welfare of the colored population. The blacks had access to 
him at all times. There was soon established a flourishing 
society of them. The Bishop always held society-meetings 
for them ; explained the principles of Christianity to them ; 
enforced the usages of the Discipline ; and gave them special 
exhortations to faithfulness and perseverance in a religious 
profession. "When the leading men among them went to see 
him at the parsonage, he always prayed with them when 
about to retire. The result of this interest in the colored 
people was an unbounded influence over them for good, and 
the establishment and perpetuation of the best society of the 
kind perhaps in the world. 

It was at one of his latest visits to Charleston that Punch 
came on foot from the neighborhood of Georgetown to see 
the apostolic Bishop. One can readily conceive that a man 
like Asbury might feel a throb of joy, worthy of an angel's 
bosom, as he listened to the artless story of the faithful negro, 
and learned how a casual ten minutes' talk by the roadside, 
twenty odd years before, had led to the conversion of Punch, 
and through him to that of many of his fellow-servants who 
had never seen the face of a white preacher. If ever a man 
inherited the blessedness of them who "sow beside all 
waters," the subject of this sketch was the man. Bishop 
Asbury never set foot on the soil of Africa, but an innumera- 
ble company of the children of Ham will rise up at the last 
day to bless him. 

I must make honorable mention of a certain Rembert Hall, 



24 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



in Sumter District, S. C, wliicli is frequently named in the 
Bishop's Journal. The proprietor of this estate, James Rem- 
bert, Esq., was a Methodist gentleman, of large property, 
who was strongly attached to Asbury. There was a room in 
his mansion that was appropriated to the Bishop's use. Here 
he commonly spent a week during his annual visitation to 
South Carolina. It was a sweet haven, where the weather- 
beaten sailor found quiet waters, and bright skies, and a 
season of repose. Here he brought up his Journal, wrote his 
letters, and lectured of an evening to the family and visitors 
and crowds of servants. Mrs. Rembert was a lady of the 
kindest heart : she not only had the Bishop's apartment al- 
ways ready and commodiously furnished, but every year her 
seamstress made up for him a full supply of linen, which, 
neatly ironed, awaited the arrival of the Bishop. Rembert 
Hall, in my time on the Sumter Circuit, 1831, was occupied 
by Caleb Bembert, Esq., his honored father and mother 
having long before gone to heaven. Mr. R. subsequently 
removed to Marengo county, Ala. 

The reader has now looked at one of the green spots in the 
journeyings of our Methodist apostle. The Bishop's usual 
route, after the Western Conference was established, was to 
strike the waters of Pigeon River or Holston, in East Ten- 
nessee; come up along the French Broad to Buncombe 
C. H., and, turning south-east, cross the mountains at Swa- 
nino or Mills' Gap ; or, south-west, at Saluda Ga]D. In those 
times, this latter gap was the steepest of all mountain cross- 
ings in the Bishop's continental tours. In the winter it was 
dangerous. There were no turnpikes over these mountains 
in those days. The perils of the mountains passed, then 
succeeded the dangers of high waters. After gating through 
the mud of the upper country, he had the swamps of the low 



FRANCIS ASBURY. 



25 



country to encounter. Every winter found Mni in South. 
Carolina and in G-eorgia after Metliodism liad found foot- 
hold there. Many of his tours of visitation at that season 
of the year were made in the worst kind of weather. He 
seldom went through the country without being thoroughly 
soaked with rain, or having to swim some river or creek. 
Most commonly his rides were from early breakfast, without 
intermission, until evening— sometimes nine and ten o'clock 
at night. Wlien some considerate hostess furnished him 
with a lunch, he would halt and dine al fresco. 

Speaking of lunching reminds me of an incident connected 
with one of these out -door repasts. The Bishop, accom- 
panied by one or two preachers, had taken the road at the 
close of a Conference in Charleston. About dinner-time, 
they came in sight of one of the old parish churches, a vene- 
rable ante-revolutionary edifice. Riding into the grove which 
surrounded it, Bishop Asbury proposed that they should halt 
and lunch. The little party dismounted and secured their 
horses. The Bishop then wondered if they could get into 
the church. This was easily effected. "We will go into 
God's house and have prayers," said the Bishop, leading the 
way. He ascended the pulpit, and engaged in prayer. The 
spirit of grace and supplication was poured upon him in full 
measure. His intercessions rose into vehement pleadings 
with God ; and he had boldness to enter into the holiest by 
the blood of Christ. The glory of God seemed to fill the 
house, and the refreshment of a special visitation from on 
high was realized by them all. The Bishop's prayer had 
brought them to heaven's gate ; and they felt that they had 
indeed come to the city of the living God — to an innumerable 
company of angels, and to the spirits of just men made per- 
fect. After retiring from the church, "Well," said the 



26 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



Bisllop, God lias graciously fed our souls Tritli tlie bread of 
heaven — let us take some refreshment for tlie Lody." Long 
years after tliis little incident liad occurred, one of the paiTy 
related it to me, Trith deep emotion. It is a touching revela- 
tion of character. Hot^ much and hovr well this man 
jpro.yed! To pray as God would have us — to pray with all 
the heart and strength, with the reason and the will, to be- 
lieve vividly that God will listen to our voice through Christ, 
and verily do the thing he pleaseth thereupon, has been pro- 
nounced the greatest achievement of the Christian's warfare 
on earth. 

In Asbury's religious character d.f-xoivyn/jl unction was the 
master-trait. It occupied the place of honor in all the habi- 
tudes of his life. TTherever he stopped for a night, he prayed. 
"Wherever he ate dinner, he closed the meal ^vith prayer. 
Whenever he visited a friend, and of course whenever he 
was with the sick or dying, he prayed. At the approach of 
a Conference, he used special prayer for Divine guidance. 
After being shut up in a town or city for a week, he pined 
for the solitude of the old woods — God's first temples — that 
he might, undisturbed, pour out his soul in prayer. He re- 
ceived once an anonymous letter of abuse : he had just come 
from his knees in his closet — he forthwith returned to his 
knees. How harmless fell the shafts upon this man of God 
U'pon Ids knees ! On the road, he was accustomed to pray ten 
minutes out of every hour. In a word, the vital element of 
bis soul was prayer. He preached well; he counselled ably; 
he planned with the sagacity and sweep of a great general ; 
but he prayed best of all. This habitual devout communion 
with God gave stability, serenity, loftiness to his spirit. It 
put him in direct connection with Omnipotence. It placed 
at Ms command the resources of God in Christ. It enabled 



FEANCIS ASBURY. 



27 



him, taking liold of the charter of gospel promises, to move 
God ! It clothed the whole man with an authority which no 
ecclesiastical titles could pretend to. Intellectual greatness 
and mental accomplishments paled before the commanding 
majesty of this moral glory, reflected in fall beam upon his 
soul from Christ, who is "the light and life" of men. 

This habit of close and fervent communion with God was 
doubtless the spring of that amazing and steady zeal which 
bore him on in an unparalleled career of great labors. His 
contact with the "powers of the world to come" gave intense 
vividness to his perception of the moral predicament of our • 
fallen nature and the solemn retributions of the eternal state. 
He had found by that most certain of all proofs, personal ex- 
perience, that the gospel is the power of God to salvation, 
to every one that believeth. 

In the order of the Divine Providence, it was his lot to 
arrange, from year to year, a vast and complicated machinery 
of itinerant ministerial operations, by which this gospel 
might, in the most effectual manner possible, be preached 
throughout the United States. For aggressive force, this 
itinerant organization was the most effective the world ever 
saw. To work it, demanded on the part of the ecclesiastical 
chief the rarest combination of qualities — sagacity, firmness, 
gentleness, impartiality, the authority, not of high-sounding 
titles, but that won from "labors more abundant," from a 
sacrifice of ease, comfort, and the pleasures of domestic life, 
from a disinterestedness so scrupulous and lofty that the 
tongue of detraction could not move against it, and a zeal so 
sustained that no foe could question it. Upon no lower con- 
ditions could the " captain of the Lord's host," in that early 
day of difficulty, when the new system was grounding itself 
and going through its experimental epoch, have maintained 



28 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



liis government. But lie met tlie conditions, severe as they 
were. His daring canvas was spread, and liis pennon flut- 
tered in tlie lead of the whole squadron. Others had dis- 
tricts, circuits, and stations : his circuit was the Continent 
Eight months' work for him, even as late as three years be- 
fore his death, was six thousand miles of travel, and a sermon 
at nearly every fifty of them ; a presidency in nine Annual 
Conferences, involving the stationing of near seven hundred 
preachers; and an attendance at ten camp -meetings. In 
every conceivable sort of place he preached : in the woods, 
in barns, in sitting-rooms ; in court-houses, storehouses, mar- 
kets ; in College chapels, Eepresentative chambers — even in 
bar-rooms, and once in a playhouse ! When he could no 
longer stand to preach, he sat. Vas he not, by eminence, the 
man for the time and country ? 

That country in his day began to embrace the great West- 
ern Yalley. It was a region that stretched from the grand 
lakes of the I^orth to the waters of the tropical gulf, guarded 
by mountain ranges right and left, embracing the Indians' 
"bloody ground," la telle riviere^ and the mighty "father of 
waters." Fourteen populous States now cover the region 
which in the early day of American Methodism had just been 
penetrated by the intrepid foot of the adventurous pioneers 
of civilization. Yery soon the Methodist preacher is found 
in these wilds, the no less intrepid pioneer of Christianity. 
In 1787, there is a circuit in Kentucky. In 1801, there is a 
Kentucky District embracing nine appointments, with Wm. 
McKendree as presiding elder. The next year, there is a 
Western Conference with two districts, reaching from the 
Miami River to ISTatchez. 

There is a story connected with I^Tatchez well worth listen- 
ing to. Tobias Gibson, a brother of the late Major Gibson 



PRANCIS ASBURY. 



29 



of Soiith Carolina, was one of the preaeliers in tlie Sontli 
Carolina Conference. After having filled several appoint- 
ments within the limits of his own Conference, he was im- 
pressed with a strong desire to visit l^atchez. He accordingly 
offered himself to Bishop Asbury as a missionary, and was 
sent to plant the banner of salvation on the waters of the 
great Western river, in 1799, eighteen years before the Mis- 
sissippi territory was admitted into the federal Union. He 
set out from Pedee, his native spot, and bent his course 
toward the Cumberland River. For six hundred miles he 
travelled, for the most part along Indian trails, through the 
wilderness. Arriving at the river, he sold his horse, bought 
a canoe, and embarked with saddle, bridle, and saddle-bagSy 
and a supply of provisions. Paddling himself down the 
Cumberland, he dropped into the Ohio, and soon after reached 
the Mississippi. God speed thee, brave -hearted boatman!' 
Neither gold nor fame is the prize before thee, but the salva- 
tion of men for whom Christ died. Thy frail bark carries 
the gospel to the frontier outpost of civilized life. He con- 
tinued his solitary, adventurous course down the great river 
until he reached I^atchez. Here he founded a Methodist 
church. He subsequently made four land-journeys through 
the wilderness lying between I^Tatchez and the Cumberland, 
to procure additional laborers. In the Minutes of 1800, 
eighty members were reported as the result of his ministry 
in the town for which he had perilled so much. Mr. Gribson's 
heroism was only surpassed by his saintly piety. He pro- 
fessed to enjoy the blessing of that "perfect love which cast- 
eth out fear." His last sermon was preached on IsTew- Year's 
day, 1804 ; and he rested from his labors. 

"William Burke is another name worthy to be mentioned 
in connection with Tobias Gibson. In 1804 the Ohio district 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

was formed, and William Burke was appointed presiding 
elder, having travelled several years previously west of the 
Alleglianies. Mr. Milburn, in his graphic lectures, "The 
Rifle, Axe, and Saddle-bags," makes the following mention 
of him : " He entered the West when the contest with the 
Indians was at its hottest. He travelled through what is now 
Western Virginia and iTorth Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, 
and Ohio. There was scarce a settlement in all this vast 
region where he had not preached, or a cabin where he had 
not prayed with the inmates. So poor was he oftentimes, 
that his clothes, as he himself said, ' were patch upon patch, 
and patch above patch, until the patches themselves were 
worn out, and bare -kneed, and bare - elbowed :' without a 
cent in his pocket, or a friend to give him a new garment, 
he must needs go forward in the service of his Master. After 
three-and-twenty years of unremitting toil, having experi- 
enced hardships and sufferings beyond description, he lost 
his voice, and was obliged to abandon his vocation. Selling 
out his stock in trade, saddle, bridle, horse, and saddle-bags, 
he found himself in possession of two hundred and thirteen 
dollars, as the total receipts for his twenty -three years* 
labor." 

Bishop Asbury crossed the Alleghanies sixty times, pene- 
trating among the "endless mountains," as the chains west 
of the Blue Eidge were formerly called. In the autumn of 
1800 he made, I think, his first visit to Kentucky, travelling 
through Knox, Madison, Mercer, and Washington counties. 
Returning through Tennessee, he visited E'ashville for the 
first time. On the same route he preached in Knoxville, for 
the first time also. Ten years afterward, while attending a 
session of the Western Conference at Shelbyville, he refers 
with exultation to the open door set wide for Methodism in 



FRANCIS ASBURY. 



31 



Mississippi. The preacliers laboring in that new field could 
spare but one messenger to the Conference. The Bishop 
says of them: ^'They keep their ground like soldiers of 
Christ and men of God who care for the cause and work of 
the Lord." He had intended to visit Mississippi in 1814, but 
the illness of Bishop McKendree made it necessary for him 
to attend the South Carolina Conference. 

The labors and journeys of Bishop Asbury knew no pause 
till death sealed the mercies of God to him, and completed 
the sacrifice which his whole life in acts of faith and love 
had been rendering up. His last tour was through the South- 
ern States. The last entry made in his Journal was at Granby, 
S. C, on the 7th of December. He passed on by slow stages 
to the vicinity of Charleston, and thence to Richmond, Ya., 
where, on Sunday, March 24, 1816, he preached his last ser- 
mon, his text being, "He will finish the work, and cut it 
short in righteousness" — a touchingly appropriate valedictory 
text to a ministry which had so long sounded like a clarion- 
call in all parts of the land. To preach this last sermon he 
was lifted from his carriage at the doors of the church and 
seated on a small table in the pulpit. It had been his aim to 
get to Baltimore, where in May the General Conference was 
to assemble. Leaving Richmond, he reached, after travelling 
three days, the house of his friend, Mr. George Arnold, in 
Spottsylvania county, where his journeyings terminated. On 
the following Sunday, amidst the kindest attentions of his 
faithful travelling companion, the Rev. J. W, Bond, and of an 
attached Christian family, he entered into the joy of his 
Lord. He was in the 71st year of his age ; had preached in 
America nearly forty-five years ; and exercised the office of 
Bishop for thirty years. His mortal remains lie in a vault 
beneath the pulpit of the Eutaw Street Church in Baltimore. 



32 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Bisllop Asburjj as I conceive of liis intellectual character, 
possessed tliat 

"Plain, heroic magnitude of mind" 

"wliicli shows its preeminence chiefly in alFairs. His prac- 
tical, sagacious intellect fitted him admirably for the task 
of governing. I suppose he had little of imagination, or pro- 
found philosophic insight, or rich and copious elocution. As 
a pulpit orator, it is likely he was surpassed by several of his 
contemporaries, and by not a few of his successors. His ser- 
mons were strong, emphatic presentations of religious truth, 
in its manifold applications — truth verified and substantiated 
to himself, not mainly by the speculative faculty, but by an 
inward experience of the Divine life — by an act of being, 
which, as it is the correlative, is, after all, the grand organ, 
of truth. One can readily conceive that on stirring occasions 
such a man could speak of matters pertaining to the great 
work of Grod in the soul with an authority, power, and unc- 
tion which the mere orator could never command. "Wise, 
plain, inartificial, pungent, striking home to the conscience — 
these predicates would perhaps sufficiently and truly set forth 
the qualities of his preaching. Joshua Marsden pronounces 
Bishop Asbury " a dignified, eloquent, and impressive 
preacher." It must be remembered that his life was a 
ceaseless round of activities, affording very little time, and 
less opportunity, for hard, continuous study ; that his public 
engagements precluded the sort of intellectual drill necessary 
to the formation of a great thinker ; and that his acquaint- 
ance with books must have been, of necessity, too limited to 
furnish the best ^pabulum of thought. His forte was adminis- 
tration. That was the prime necessity in his position, the 
special demand of the time. Washington could not have 



FRANCIS ASBURY. 



33 



made as brilliant an oration as Patrick Henry : tlie latter could 
never have administered the government of a young nation 
as the former did. 

It has been asserted by one of the distinguished ex-Presi- 
dents of the Wesleyan Conference — and the admission is 
remarkable, coming from that quarter — that Bishop Asbury 
was in labors more abundant than "Wesley himself. I see no 
reason to question the accuracy of Dr. Bangs's estimate, 
which is, that Asbury, during the forty -five years of his 
ministry in this country, delivered not less than sixteen thou- 
sand four hundred and twenty-five sermons, besides lectures 
and exhortations innumerable ; that he travelled during the 
same time about two hundred and seventy thousand miles, 
for the most part on the worst of roads and on horseback ; 
that he sat in not less than two hundred and twenty-four 
Annual Conferences ; and ordained more than four thousand 
ministers. This is a series of great labors, to which I doubt 
if the whole history of Oiiris'ciamty for eighteen centuries 
can find a parallel. For him wealth had no charm, ambition 
no lure, self-interest no gratification. He was absorbed in 
the grandeur of the objects of his ministry; and, with a 
noble simplicity of purpose, gave himself up fully to one 
idea and one work — to carry the holy fire of true religion 
around the continent. He found less than six hundred Me- 
thodists in the country when he began his ministerial labors : 
at his death, he left a fiourishing Church in all parts of the 
land, with more than two hundred thousand communicants 
in it, and served by upwards of seven hundred travelling 
preachers, besides a large number of local preachers. In the 
forty years that have gone by since his death, the number 
has increased to one million and a half! 

Sydney Smith says it is in vain to talk of men numerically : 
3 



34 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



if the passions of a man are exalted to a summit like the 
majestic steadiness with which St. Paul points out the single 
object of his life, and the unquenchable courage with which 
he walks toward it, he is a tlioitsand men! This thousand- 
men power was in the soul of Francis Asburj. Measuring 
its extent and depth, it might be supposed we had a cast-iron 
man before us — one who rejoiced in sinews tough and strong 
as the mountain oak which shows no weather-side to the 
storm. It might be presumed that such tireless application 
to work had indurated into a stoical callousness the native 
sympathies of such a man. "We should be mistaken in both 
conclusions. Bishop Asbury was a man, if not of feeble con- 
stitution, at least delicate ; often sick, often wearied ; who 
felt the cold which he braved ; who trembled at the roaring 
torrent which he hesitated not to plunge through; upon 
whom the summer-heat fell with oppressive sense of languor ; 
who was many a time pinched with hunger, when a crust of 
bread would have been thauidiilly received. His sufferings 
were manifold. But let it be well observed that no particle 
of merit was allowed by the apostle of American Methodism 
to attach to these sufferings, l^o fanatical asceticism, with 
its "righteousness by starvation," was allowed to obtain foot- 
hold amongst the elements of his personal piety. He en- 
dured hardness as a good soldier of Christ, because the cir- 
cumstances of the time and country involved the necessity 
of such an endurance, not because austerities were good and 
desirable 2oer se. His sole ground of acceptance before 
God was the merit of Christ crucified, apprehended by faith ; 
and with that merit, no lower and fancied merit of severities 
and sufferings was allowed to participate. 

Thus, too, he was kept clear of the callousness of spirit 
which a supposed meritorious asceticism always generates. 



FKANCIS ASBURY. 



35 



The spirit of power that was in him was tempered by the 
spirit of love ; and his heart throbbed with responsive sym- 
pathy to every form of distress, and every sigh of suffering. 
His travels brought him frequently into contact with the 
sick ; and in many an instance he was not only a physician 
for the soul, but for the body also. Like an angel of mercy, 
he brought not only spiritual consolation but physical relief 
to the distresses of the poor and diseased. "With the afflic- 
tions and destitution of his preachers, he sympathized most 
tenderly. At the session of the "Western Conference in 1806, 
some of the preachers were in want, and could not purchase 
decent clothes: "So I parted," he says, "with my watch, 
my coat, and my shirt" — a sublime passage in a Christian 
Bishop's Journal. Suppose a year's revenue of my Lord 
Bishop of London had been at Asbury's control in that wild 
wilderness of a Western Conference : the $50,000 had gone 
as freely as "my watch, my coat, and my shirt." 

One of his friends, in 1800, asked him to loan or give him 
<£50. " He might as well have asked me for Peru," says the 
Bishop. " I showed him all the money I had in the world, 
about $12, and gave Mm $5." One of the Georgia preachers, 
in 1799, had been ill : the Bishop came into his District, and 
found him just able to travel. He gave up to the convales- 
cent man his sulky, and rode his horse. This is his ac- 
count: "We proceeded down the Oconee twelve miles to B. 
Pope's, after a heavy siege through the woods, from one 
plantation to another, on Brother Blanton's stiff-jointed horse, 
that I would only ride to save souls, or the health of a brother.'' 

The Bishop was fastidious about having his portrait painted, 
and persisted in refusing this favor to his friends. It was got 
out of him in the following way : At a session of the Balti- 
more Conference, Bishop Asbury lodged with his friend 



36 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Mc Cannon, wlio was a mercliant tailor, and wealthy. He 
liad to pass tlirough. tlie front sliop in entering the liouse. 
He liad been greatly depressed by tbe sad equipment of many 
of Ms pioneers for tbe ensuing year. As he passed through 
the shop, Mr. McCannon said to him: "Brother Asbury, 
here is a piece of black velvet which I was thinking I would 
make up for the preachers, for some of them seem to be in 
great need." "Ah, James," said the Bishop, "that would be 
doing a good thing, if you can afford it!" "0 yes, I can 
afford it; but I expect to be paid a good price for it." 
"Price !" said the Bishop ; "if it is price you are after, it is 
not worth while to talk any more about it;" and was about 
to pass on. " Come, come. Brother Asbury," said his friend, 
"you can pay my price, and be none the poorer for it." 
"Why, how is that?" said the Bishop. "Just this," an- 
swered his friend : " if you will sit to a painter for your por- 
trait, I will give the piece of velvet to the preachers, and 
have it made up for them besides." "Ah, James," said the 
Bishop, " I believe you 've got me now!" and passed on to 
the parlor. That afternoon he gave the artist a sitting. 

Another illustration of the tenderness of his sympathies is 
found in the habit he had of visiting the graves of his de- 
ceased friends. "When he came into a neighborhood where 
some dear friend whom he had left a year before in good 
health was ascertained to have departed this life, he invaria- 
bly expressed a desire to visit his grave. In the hour of 
twilight, he bent his solitary steps toward the "house of 
silence," to hold communion, in spirit, with the dead. In 
his lone musings, he followed the flight of the redeemed spirit 
to the land of light and love ; affection whispered, 

<' He is there, and he weeps no more !" 



FEANCIS ASBURY. 37 

Hope sliot across tlie narrow defile of tlie grave to tlie " ever- 
lasting home" beyond. Eternity opened to liis view the 
awful and boundless succession of ages into which death in- 
troduces the immortal spirit ; and the prospect of everlasting 
fellowship with the good — with many who owned him as the 
instrument of their conversion to God — came with ravishing 
effect upon his spirit. What seasons of fervent prayer must 
those have been to a man like Asbury ! 

"We have been tracing the early history of Methodism in 
this country while we have been following the steps of this 
good and great man. We have seen its grand characteristic 
— a revival of scriptural religion — an element of Divine life 
in the bosom of society. We have noticed its leading 
agency — an itinerant ministry, aggressive, enterprising, self- 
sacrificing. We have observed the epoch of its development 
into full organic form — a Church, with a regularly-constituted 
ministry and Christian ordinances. We have seen its subse- 
quent growth : how it formed societies and reared churches 
throughout the Atlantic slope; how it kept up with the 
march of frontier settlements, crossed the AUeghanies, 
touched the Mississippi, followed Indian trails, and at length 
filled the mighty Yalley with the sound of its battle-shout. 
In all this movement there may be traced, in connection 
with the direct influence of religion, the steady growth of 
all kinds of improvement, comprehensive views of usefulness, 
home-influence exalted and purified, and agencies set on foot 
which aim at the diffusion of knowledge, sound morals, and 
the restraints of virtuous principle throughout all classes of 
society. But what is this but in effect saying that the 
highest and best form of civilization Icido^ wd^Qdi in the foot- 
steps of the expanding and pervading religious movement ? 
"V^Hiat is it but saying that its civic achievements are of the 



38 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



noblest quality ? Patriotism no less than piety is under obli- 
gation to revere tlie memory of Francis Asbury. Fame, with 
its burning tongues — tbe voices of posterity, will pronounce 
Ms name as that of a nation's benefactor; and time will 
continue to sbed on tbat name a lustre brighter than the 
blaze of heraldry. 

Let me now observe that it is possible to glory in the 
achievements of a religious ancestry without imitating them. 
It is possible to carry on a system of operations u.pon a level 
lower than that in which it originated, and with a spirit and 
tone less earnest than the primitive animus and enthusiasm. 
There may be more philosophy, but less force, in pulpit min- 
istrations ; more polish, but less point ; more attention to 
style, and less of the unction of the Holy Ghost. Our 
church-edifices may be vastly more splendid, our church- 
services vastly less spiritual, than in primitive times. All will 
allow that degeneracy is possible wherever man is concerned. 

On the other hand, it is equally possible that one may view 
couleur de rose every thing primitive, and indulge in the carp- 
ing spirit which cries, the former days were better than 
these — a spirit which, seizing upon the circumstantials of the 
case and overlooking its essence, concludes that because Me- 
thodist Bishops do not now travel on horseback, at the rate 
of thirty or forty miles a day, in an age of steamboats and 
railroads, therefore they are the degenerate sons of Asbury. 
Saddle-bags and forty miles a day was the best he could do 
in his circumstances. It is far from being the best in our 
time. Bishop Asbury, in his peculiar circumstances, main- 
tained a life-long celibacy ; and it was a noble self-sacrifice. 
But it by no means follows that his successors are called to 
the same sacrifice of the domestic afiections. Wesley, Coke, 
and Fletcher were married men in Asbury' s day. The 



FRANCIS ASBURY. 



39 



primitive Methodist preacliers received at first sixty -four 
dollars, and subsequently eighty dollars per annum, when- 
ever tliey were fortunate enough, to get their fall disciplinary 
allowance. To fall back upon primitive usage and again 
starve the ministry might be a good specimen of "old- 
fashioned Methodism," but it would be a signal proof of the 
total want of true religious feeling, in the present circum- 
stances of the Church. There was a time when circuits com- 
prehended the half of States : is that any reason why preach- 
ers should now occupy their whole time in mere locomotion ? 
Clearly, then, we must discriminate between the circum- 
stantials and the essence. 

What, then, is the essence ? I presume to say, in the first 
place, that Methodism stands or falls with its religion. 
Commute this into a mere formalism, or turn it into a mere 
philosophy of spiritual life, instead of life itself — an experi- 
mental verity in the heart — and then the monuments of the 
conquests of our fathers will only exhibit more emphatically 
the degeneracy of the present race. Retain this, and let it 
be true that "God is with us," and then the "glory in the 
midst" is also a defence round about. We hold the charter 
of our perpetuity by the tenure of fidelity to religious prin- 
ciple. This is the real power in the Church — the prophecy 
and the pledge of a long youth and a glorious maturity. 

2. A steady hold upon the cardinal truths of the gospel is 
another of the essentials. If the time ever come when 
flowers of rhetoric, or polemical subtilties, or elaborate moral 
essays, or scientific discussions, or a hybrid politico-pulpit 
declamation shall take the place of Christ — his atonement, 
our meritorious ground of justification ; his Spirit, the source 
of our regeneration ; his commands, our law ; his love, our 
inspiration — if our theology ever become transmuted, by the 



40 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



processes of modern spiritual chemistry, into an attar-of-rose 
sentimentalityj and Methodist preachers become famous for 
delivering beautiful sermons, "with no baptism of fire upon 
them, then write Ichabod upon the temple- doors. 

3. In fine, we may reckon among the characteristic, essen- 
tial elements, the spirit of activity, of aggressive enterprise. 
How this spirit breaks out in the character and achieve- 
ments of Asbury and his contemporaries ! Their voice went 
through the land as a trumpet-call. It sounded over height 
and depth, and filled the country with its echoes. What 
yearning for souls ; what eagerness for the onset against sin 
and the devil ; what a vigor and pitch of working power, did 
these venerable men exhibit ! Times are altered : the state 
of the country is improved; persecution is found nowhere, 
unless we choose to dignify with that name the pitiful snarl- 
ings of an enraged but insignificant bigotry ; wealth abounds 
among the members of the Church ; learning, and eloquence, 
and reputation, are found among her ministers. T\Tiat then ? 
Is the mission of the Church ended ? Are there no fields for 
her sickle? Is there no call for her activities? May she 
confine herself to decorous, routine operations ? Asbury I tell 
us. Ah, we well know what would be his voice, could he 
speak to us from the heights of immortality. He would say : 
" Behold your country ! Infidelity, worldliness, ambition, arc 
swallowing up millions of its people. Yours, my sons, is the 
task of staying these plagues. Far mightier is the field be- 
fore you than was that into which your fathers entered. In 
your days is to be fought the grand battle for the mastery of 
the world, between gospel truth and a boastful but deter- 
mined unbelief. The God of Jacob make your arms strong 
to draw the bow of steel. Push the battle to the gate." He 
would bid us survey the world, break fresh ground in the 



FKANCIS ASBXJRT. 



41 



"regions beyond," and bear a part wortlij of our resources, 
and proportioned to our responsibilities, in the grand equip- 
ment for Christ's conquest of tbe wbole earth. 

Instead of waning in zeal, in faith, in enterprise, let the 
Church go onward in accumulative power. The first century 
of American Methodism has a decade of years yet to run. 
Its history may be traced in one line : " Mightily grew the 
word of Grod, and prevailed." "WTiat may not — what ought 
not the second century to witness ? — when the spirit of mo- 
dern society, too, is all astir; when activity, progress, is 
written on the banners of science, philosophy, invention, 
arts, literature, commerce ; when the barriers of prejudice 
are crumbling; when public respect has been won for our 
principles and modes of operation ; when opportunity opens 
the gates of the world to us, and province after province in- 
vites our entrance ? 0 for a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost 
and of fire on all the Church ! May her future history be 
worthy of the past, and realize to the full the noble anticipa- 
tion of the poet Montgomery with which he closed a public 
address at the centenary celebration of English Methodism : 
" Century expanding after century, like circle beyond circle, 
in broad water, shall carry farther and farther the blessings 
of the Methodist dispensation, till they have tracked every 
sea, and touched every shore !" 



[In the foregoing admirable sketch of Bishop Asbury it is stated that "his 
mortal remains lie in a vault beneath the pnlpit of the Eutaw Street Church, in 
Baltimore." There, indeed, they were deposited, and there they lay for thirty or 
forty years ; but we are sorry to add, that they have since been removed to Mount 
Olivet Cemetery, in the suburbs of Baltimore, for what reason is best known to 
those who disturbed the sacred ashes. We hope they will be restored to their first 
and final resting-place ; where there is a tablet bearing an inscription, which ia 
copied verbatim on the following page. — Editor,] 



42 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

TO THE MEMORY OF 

THE EEYEEE^TD FEAl^CIS ASBURY, 
Bishop 

OF THE 

Methodist Episcopal Church. 



He was born in England August 20, 1745 ; 
Entered the Ministry at the age of 17 ; 
Came a Missionary to America 1771; 
Was ordained Bishop in this city December 27, 1784; 
Annually visited the Conferences in the United States ; 
"With much zeal continued to ^-preach the word" 

FOR more than half A CENTURY; 
AND 

LITERALLY ENDED HIS LABORS WITH HIS LIFE, 

NEAR Fredericksburg, Virginia, 

IN THE FULL TRIUMPH OF FAITH, ON 31 MaRCH, 1816, 

Aged 70 Years 7 Months and 11 Days. 
His remains were deposited in this vault May 10, 1816, 
BY the General Conference then sitting in this city. 
His Journals will exhibit to posterity 
HIS labors, his difficulties, his sufferings, 

HIS PATIENCE, HIS PERSEVERANCE, HIS LOVE TO GOD AND MAN. 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 



43 



WILLIAM McKEJSTDEEE. 

BY A. L. P. GREEN, D. D. 

William McKendree was born in King William county, 
Virginia, July 5, 1757, and departed this life Marcli 5, 1835, 
at tlie residence of his brother, Dr. James McKendree, Sum- 
ner county, Tennessee. 

Of his early history, childhood, and youth, we know but 
little, further than that he was born of worthy and pious 
parents, who were in moderate circumstances, and was 
brought up to the pursuits common to the sons of a medium 
farmer in those days. 

His early education was imperfect; but in the course of 
years, by close attention to study, he became a learned man. 
In his youth his attention was mainly directed to arithmetic, 
so that his education in these days would be called a business 
education. 

It was not an easy matter to learn from the Bishop much 
about himself — that was not with him a topic of conversa- 
tion : his own acts and doings were never introduced, except 
in such a manner as to keep himself out of sight. If at any 
time he related an anecdote, or gave a piece of history, in 
which he was an actor, instead of saying, I did so and so, he 
would say, a preacher did so and so; consequently, many 



44 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



facts, ttMcIi would no doubt be very interesting, pertaining 
to tlie early portion of liis life, have never obtained public 
notoriety. 

Tor instance, lie once belonged to tbe army, as a soldier of 
tbe Eevolution, and was in tbe service under "Washington tbe 
last two years of tbe war witb Great Britain. He entered as 
a private, and was in a sbort time afterward made an adjutant, 
wbicb office be seems to bave beld about six montbs, and was 
tben, in consequence of bis great business qualifications, 
placed in tbe commissary department. Here be sbowed bis 
accustomed energy of character, in making impressments of 
cattle and food to sustain tbe allied armies of "Wasbington 
and Eoebambeau at tbe sieo;e of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 
This part of bis life be but seldom mentioned, and many 
of bis intimate friends never even knewtbat be bad belonged 
to tbe army. Tbere was an effort made at one time to in- 
duce bim to obtain a pension of tbe government for bis 
services ; but be would not accede to tbis, stating tbat bis 
liberty was all tbat be wanted, and that be bad obtained, and 
tbat be asked for notbing more. 

As readers generally are curious to know sometbing of tbe 
personal appearance of tbose wbose lives tbey are to be made 
familiar witb, I will bere give a sbort description of tbe outer 
man of tbe Bisbop. 

He was about five feet ten incbes in beigbt, weigbing, on 
an average, tbrougb life, after grown up to manbood, about 
one bundred and sixty pounds. He bad fair skin, dark bair, 
and blue eyes. He increased in flesb between tbe years of 
forty and sixty, and at one time be weigbed about one bun- 
dred and eigbty pounds ; but as be grew old be declined in 
flesb, and for tbe last ten years of bis life did not exceed one 
bundred and forty pounds. "Wben in bis prime, bis form was 



WILLIAM MCKENDHEE. 



45 



almost faultless, possessing extraordinary action and great 
physical strength. His features, taken as a whole, were de- 
cidedly good ; rather handsome than otherwise. "When calm 
and silent, there was the expression of deep thought upon his 
countenance, sometimes approaching even to that of care ; 
but whenever he spoke, his eyes would kindle up, and a 
smile, like that of pleasant recognition, would cover his face, 
which was the outcropping of a kind and benevolent heart. 
His constitution was no doubt naturally a good one, but he 
was so much overtaxed through life with labor, hardships, 
and exposure, that his old age was bu.rdened with infirmities, 
being for many years under the influence of asthma and 
neuralgia. 

With respect to his intellect, I may say it was of the high- 
est grade, and it is hard to say from what standpoint to view 
him in order to see his strongest developments. His percep- 
tive organs were perfect. He saw every thing that came in 
sight — nothing passed him unnoticed. His comparison was 
superior, being by nature a logician and mathematician, and 
withal remarkably practical. Had he been called to the field 
at the head of an army, his enemy would not have been his 
equal, unless he had been wise, sleepless, and powerful. Had 
he taken his place in the halls of legislation, righteous laws 
and wise counsel would have followed in his wake. Had the 
subject of finance taken possession of his mighty brain, he 
might have been the American Rothschild. As a man of 
order, he was faultless : every thing was in its place, and all 
things were done at the proper time. His taste was exquisite, 
and he fully appreciated every thing that interests humanity. 
His mind had no dark surfaces or blunt edges. His intellect, 
as a whole, was bright, and his thoughts diamond-pointed. 
He never said foolish things — never weak, never even com- 



46 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



mon things. There was thouglit in all his words, and wis- 
dom in all his thoughts. As he grew in years and increased 
in knowledge, he did not suffer any thing to be lost: the 
balances he continually brought forward, so that at any time 
he was prepared for a full statement of life's account. He 
transferred childhood into youth, youth into manhood, and 
manhood into old age : so that when his locks were gray and 
he was leaning upon his staff, if he sought the society of 
children, in which he took great delight, they found in him 
their own thought, feeling, and sympathies ; when with the 
youth, he was a boy again ; when among the lions of crea- 
tion, he bore his mane aloft, and shook the earth with his 
roaring. He was the man for the times and the age in which 
he lived, leading in triumph the Church in the wilderness, 
like Abraham leading his son to the mount of vision. I shall 
never see his like again. 

As it regards his social habits, I may safely say that he was 
every thing that could be desired. He was communicative, 
companionable, and sympathizing. There was no coldness, 
coarseness, or selfishness about him. "Without effort, he found' 
his way to the confidence and esteem of every one, old and 
young, black and white, rich and poor. His heart was always 
in the lead, so that a stranger was first impressed with the 
goodness of the man and the purity of his purpose — a natural 
draft upon his confidence which he was sure to honor. This 
point once gained, his great wisdom never failed to command 
respect. 

His religious and ministerial character is not unknown to 
the Church, and it will soon be put into a living form by an 
abler hand, yet we think it advisable to give a short sketch 
of it here. 

He was under serious impression when quite a youth, but 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 47 

did not embrace religion until some time in tlie year 1787 ; at 
wMcIl time lie connected himself with, the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, and the following year obtained license to preach, 
and joined the travelling Connection on trial. The Confer- 
ence at which he was admitted was held in Amelia county, 
Virginia, June 17, 1788. His first appointment was to l^or- 
folk and Portsmouth. His next was to Petersburg : after the 
first quarter, he was removed to Union Circuit, in the bounds 
of the South Carolina Conference. The following year he 
was sent to the Bedford Circuit, Virginia Conference : the 
third quarter he was removed to the Greenbrier Circuit : the 
fourth quarter he was removed to the Little Levels, on the 
Western waters. The next year he was appointed to four 
circuits, to travel each one quarter. At the end of this year 
he was appointed to the Richmond District. The following 
year he was sent to a mountainous District in the Baltimore 
Conference. From this District he was returned at the end 
of the year to the Richmond District, from which he was 
taken after one round, by the Bishops, to what was then 
called Kentucky, and left in charge of what was then the 
"Western Conference, which embraced Ohio, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, and all Virginia west of E'ew River, and also one 
Circuit in the State of Illinois. The foregoing account of 
his labors is from the Bishop's own hand. 

He was continued in the Mississippi Valley until the Gene- 
ral Conference of 1808, at which time he was elected and 
ordained Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His 
labors and responsibilities after this were greatly increased. 
While he was in charge of the Yf estern Conference, as Pre- 
siding Elder, his work was exceedingly difficult, and in some 
instances hazardous. The country was new, the roads were 
generally very bad, and the accommodations poor. The 



48 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



streams, for tlie most part, were without ferries or bridges, 
and travelling had to be done altogether on horseback or on 
foot, so that every variety of difficulty had to be encountered. 
But deep streams, high mountains, muddy roads, cold and 
snow, together with long rides, were the inheritance of a 
travelling preacher in those days. Yet these things moved 
not our beloved Bishop. 

He led his band of tried men. It was not his plan to say 
" go," but " come" was his word ; and a nobler band of Chris- 
tian heroes never lived than those who flocked around the 
standard that was borne in triumph by AYilliam McKendree. 
A bare mention of the names of a few of them will settle this 
point. Reader, run your eye over the list for a moment. 
There were John McGee, John Page, "William Burke, Jacob 
Young, Thomas "Wilkerson, Learner Blackman, Samuel Dou- 
thet, James Gwin, Lewis Garrett, and Jesse "Walker. These 
were men of mark^ of nerve, of intellect, with great powers of 
endurance and decision of character. The yell of savage 
men and savage beasts did not daunt their courage : poverty, 
hunger, and fatigue, they regarded as very little things ; 
while the scoffs of infidels and the persecutions of the wicked 
fell harmless at their feet. Led on by the wise, the prudent, 
the far-seeing McKendree, they seemed to be endowed with 
ubiquity: they were to be found almost everywhere. With 
them, it was open war with the enemy of Christ, and they 
carried the standard of the cross into every town and ham- 
let : they planted it on the tops of the mountains and beside 
all waters. 

Jesse Walker was generally sent forward as a sacred en- 
gineer, who would reconnoitre the ground and discover the 
position of the enemy, and select his position, and report. 
Then McKendree would bring into the field his heavy ord- 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 



49 



nance, whicli generally consisted of McG-ee, Burke, Page, 
and Garrett, and tlieir like, by whom hot shot was thrown 
thick and fast into the camp of the enemy, until the bulwarks 
of infidelity were in ruins. Then would be heard the sound 
of the silver trump, blown by "Wilkerson, Blackman, Gwin, 
Douthet, and others, who always had a supply of balm for 
the wounded hearts, and delighted their ears with their hea- 
venly music, for some of them were sweet singers, so that 
the bruised and mangled became easy and willing captives. 
Thus was Christianity, under the instrumentality of the 
Methodist Church, established in Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Western Virginia, and Illinois. 

Here permit me to say, that having at one time lived in 
the house of the Rev. James Gwin, and having been the 
travelling companion and intimate friend of Bishop McKen- 
dree, and living for several years on terms of the closest 
intimacy with him, having heard much from these fathers in 
the Church in the shape of narrative, what I may have to say 
with regard to incidents in the life of the now sainted Bishop 
will be drawn mainly from memory; therefore I do not claim 
always to be correct in dates. 

That the present generation may be able to form some idea 
of Avhat a Methodist travelling preacher had to encounter in 
those days, I will give one chapter in the life of McKendree, 
running through a few short weeks, in carrying the gospel to 
the pioneer, and looking up the frontier settler. 

In the year 1807, Brother Walker was sent to Illinois, there 

being at that time but one Circuit in that State ; and a 

young man by the name of Travis was sent to Missouri. In 

the summer of this year, William McKendree, who was then 

in charge of what was called the Cumberland District, which 

extended to Illinois and Missouri, took with him James 
4 



50 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Gwin and A. Groddard, (Gwin was then a local preaclier, and 
Goddard was travelling wliat was tlien called Barren Circuit,) 
and set out to visit "Walker and Travis. They crossed over the 
Ohio, and entered into the State of Illinois, travelled all day, 
and, finding no house to stop at, passed the night in the wil- 
derness. ISText day, they shared a like fortune, camping ou.t 
at night again. During this night, their horses got away, 
and they did not find them till about noon the next day ; but 
that night they found a lone settlement, and tarried with a 
poor family who were living in a temporary hut or camp. 
]S"ext night, they reached the house of a Mr. B., who received 
them kindly. The Mississippi was not far off; and there 
being no way to get their horses across it at that point, they 
left them with Mr. B., took their baggage on their shoulders, 
and went on foot to the river, which they crossed in a canoe, 
and after walking twelve miles, they came to the house of a 
Mr. Johnson. Here they met young Travis, who had gotten 
up a little camp-meeting in the wilderness. At this meeting 
their labors were greatly blessed. "When it closed, they re- 
turned again to Mr. B., and went to a camp-meeting in the 
bounds of Brother "Walker's work, called the Three Springs. 

Here they found a few faithful members of the Church, but 
hosts of enemies. One individual, in particular, who was a 
leader of a band of persecutors, had called a council among 
them to form a plan to drive the preachers ofi*. He stated to 
his clan, that if the preachers were permitted to remain, and 
could have their way, they would break up all the gambling 
and racing in the country, and that they would have no more 
pleasure, or fun, as he called it. So the determination among 
them was to arm themselves, go to the camp-meeting en masse, 
take the preachers and conduct them to the Ohio River, carry 
them over, and let them know that they were to keep on 



t WILLIAM MCKENDEEE. 51 

their own side, and never trouble tliem again. TMs purpose 
^yas made known to the preachers in advance of their appear- 
ance on the encampment. On Sunday, while Mr. McKen- 
dree was in the midst of his discourse, preaching to a large 
and interested congregation, on the text, " Come now, and 
let us reason together," etc., the Major, as he was called, and 
his company, rode up and halted near the congregation. The 
Major told his men that he would not do any thing until the 
man had done preaching. Mr. McKendree was then in the 
prime of life, his voice loud and commanding, his bearing 
that of undaunted courage, while a supernatural defiance 
seemed to shoot forth from his speaking eyes. He was sus- 
tained by the presence of Gwin, Goddard, Walker, and Tra- 
vis, who sat near him. The prayers of the faithful were 
being sent up to heaven in his behalf; and, above all, the 
Divine presence was with him. Such was the power of his 
reasoning, that he held the Major and his party spell-bound 
for an hour. During his remarks, he took occasion to say 
that himself and the ministers that accompanied him were 
all citizens of the United States and freemen, and had fought 
for the liberty which they enjoyed; but that their visit to 
that place was one of mercy, their object being to do good to 
the souls of men in the name of Christ. As he drew his re- 
marks to a close, awful shocks of Divine power were felt by 
the congregation. At length mourners were called for, and 
scores crowded to the altar. At this moment, the Major 
undertook to draw off his men and retreat in good order; 
but some were already gone, others had alighted, turned 
their horses loose, and were at the altar for prayer. He led 
off a few of them to the spring ; and after a short consulta- 
tion, none of them seemed inclined to prosecute their pur- 
pose any further, and at once disbanded. Several of the 



52 



BIOaHAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



number were converted before tbe meeting closed, and be- 
came members of tbe Churcb. 

On tbe same evening, about tbe going down of tbe sun, a 
man came up to Mr. G-win and said to bim : "Are you tbe 
man tbat carries tbe roll?" ""Wbat roll?" said Mr. Gwin. 
"Tbe roll," said be, "tbat people put tbeir names to tbat 
want to go to beaven." Brotber Gwin, supposing tbat be 
bad reference to tbe class-book, referred bim to Brotber 
Walker, wbo took bis name. Tbe wild look and novel man- 
ner of tbe man indicated derangement. He left tbe camp- 
ground and fled to tbe woods witb almost tbe speed of a 
wild beast. [N'otbing more was seen of bim until tbe next 
morning, at wbicb time be returned to tbe encampment, wet 
witb tbe dew of tbe nigbt, in a state of mind wbicb was dis- 
tressing beyond description ; but during tbe day be was bap- 
pily and powerfully converted to God, and was found sitting, 
as it were, at tbe feet of Jesus, clotbed, and in bis rigbt 
mind. He afterward gave tbe following account of bimself : 
He lived in wbat was called tbe American Bottom, was very 
wicked, and professed to be a deist. A sbort time before, be 
dreamed tbat tbe day of judgment was coming, and tbat 
tbree men bad been sent on from tbe East to warn bim of 
bis danger, wbicb bad distressed bim greatly ; and wben be 
saw tbe tbree preacbers, McKendree, Gwin, and Goddard, 
pass bis bouse, be recognized tbem as tbe same persons 
wbom be bad seen in bis dream, and be bad followed tbem 
to tbe camp-meeting, and tbey bad warned bim of bis danger 
sure enougb. It was said of tbis man tbat be possessed a 
large estate, was very influential in bis neigbborbood, and 
was ultimately instrumental in doing mucb good. 

At tbe close of tbis meeting, one bundred persons con- 
nected tbemselves witb tbe Cburcb. 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 53 

In all my intercourse with. Bishop McKenclree, tliere was 
no man wliose name was more frequently mentioned by Mm 
tlian Jesse "Walker. Often have I heard him say, Jesse was 
a true man ; and it may not be amiss for a few lines to be 
devoted to him. 

The Eev. Jesse "Walker was a character perfectly unique : 
he had no duplicate. He was to the Church what Daniel 
Boone was to the early settler — always first, always ahead of 
everybody else, preceding all others long enough to be the 
pilot of the newcomer. Brother Walker is found first in 
Davidson county, Tennessee. He lived within about three 
miles of the then village of I^ashville ; and was at that time 
a man of family, poor, and to a considerable extent without 
education. He was admitted on trial in 1803, and appointed 
to the Red River Circuit. But the Minutes, in his case, are 
no guide, from the fact that he was sent by the Bishops and 
Presiding Elders in every direction where new work was to 
be cut out. His natural vigor was almost su.perhuman. He 
did not seem to require food and rest as other men ; no day's 
journey was long enough to tire him ; no fare too poor for 
him to live upon ; to him, in travelling, roads and paths were 
useless things — he blazed out his own course ; no way was 
too bad for him to travel — if his horse could not carry him, 
he led him, and when his horse could not follow, he would 
leave him, and take it on foot ; and if night and a cabin did 
not come together, he would pass the night alone in the 
wilderness, which with him was no uncommon occurrence. 
Looking up the frontier settler was his chief delight ; and he 
found his way through hill and brake as by instinct — he was 
never lost ; and, as Bishop McKendree once said of him, in 
addressing an Annual Conference, he never complained; and 
as the Church moved West and IsTorth, it seemed to bear 



54 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Walker before it. Every time you would hear from liim, lie 
was still farther on ; and when the settlements of the white 
man seemed to take shape and form, he was next heard of 
among the Indian tribes of the ISTorth-west. 

In 1808, he was sent to Missouri, and at once bent his way 
to St. Louis, which was at that time as destitute of true piety 
as any point in America. On reaching the town, he passed 
through it in various directions in search of a Methodist, but 
found no one who could inform him where such a character 
could be found. At length he passed out, and was making 
his way into the country beyond ; but when he had gone 
quite out of the town, he drew up his horse, and looked back 
upon the place for a few minutes, and at length said, in the 
name of that Saviour who said to his disciples, " Gro ye into 
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," I will 
not give you up : I will try again ! So he turned about, rode 
again into the town, and renewed his inquiry. At length, he 
was told that there was a man down on Front street who was 
a Methodist. Taking the name and directions, he went in 
search of his man, whom he soon found. Calling him bro- 
ther, telling his own name and business, he asked such coun- 
tenance and cooperation as the circumstances of the case 
required. The man gave him the loink, and beckoned him 
into a back-room, several persons being present, and said to 
him about as follows: '^Look Jiere: 1 was a Methodist where 
I came from, but it is not generally known here, and I do 
not wish it to be. You cannot do any thing in this town, 
and it is useless to try." Brother Walker soon after learned 
that the man was keeping what would be called in these days 
a "doggery," and could not be relied on in Church matters. 
He went at once to a public-house and put up. He made in- 
quiry where he could rent a room. An old shell of a house 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 



55 



was soon found and rented, and in a few days "Walker liad set 
up housekeeping on a scale of economy wliicb. would astonish, 
tlie present generation, and took measures to have preaching 
in his own room ; so that his little establishment was kitchen, 
chamber, dining-room, parlor, and meeting-house; and, 
gloomy as the prospects were, he soon gathered together a 
little handful of serious, well-disposed persons, some three or 
four of whom had been members of the Church before. But 
not much could be done, for the want of a house of worship. 
He could not rent a suitable building, and would not have 
been able to pay for one if it could have been found. At 
length he was told by an individual that he would give him 
timber to build him a church, but it was across the Mis- 
sissippi, on the Illinois shore, growing in the forest. But not- 
withstanding, light began to break upon the mind of Walker. 
Is'ext, he had the offer of a lot to build upon. So his plan 
was at once laid. He hired a man to aid him, took his tools, 
cheese and crackers, crossed over the river, and went to work 
cutting J hewing , and saiving, and in a few months had his frame 
and plank all gotten out : his plank was put into a kiln to 
dry, and by the time he had put up his frame, the plank was 
sufficiently seasoned to work. The result was, that at the 
end of the year he reported to Conference a church in St. 
Louis — house, congregation, and all — the labor of his own 
hands. Such was Jesse Walker. His education, as we be- 
fore stated, was poor, with but little opportunity for reading, 
though he studied nature closely, was wonderfully gifted in 
prayer and exhortation, while his faith was uncompromising ; 
and being well acquainted with human nature, he became a 
powerful instrument, in the hands of God, of spreading the 
gospel in the valley of the Mississippi. He was one of the 
Rev. James Gwin's kind of men, which the reader will 



56 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



more readily understand when lie shall hear the following 
incident. 

Once when I was boarding in his family, and observing his 
habits, I became fearful that he would not be able to sustain 
himself, as he read nothing but newspapers, and at the same 
time had to preach every Sunday to a large and intelligent 
congregation. At length I thought I would talk to him on 
the subject, which I endeavored to do as humbly and mo- 
destly as I could, but just remarking that I could not see 
how he was to sustain himself without reading. He heard 
me through without manifesting the least displeasure, and 
answered by saying: "You little fellows cannot learn any 
thing until somebody else finds it out first and puts it in a 
book : then you can learn it. But I know it before it goes in 
a book: I know what they make books out of" And so he 
did. And it may be said of Walker, that he knew what 
books were made out of : he understood how to use the raw 
material. He took lessons from rocks and trees, mountains 
and rivers : he held i^ature's keys, and forced her, secretive 
as she is, to divulge her secrets. He lived in the antechamber 
^ of Wisdom's storehouse. He slaked his thirst from the moun- 
tain brook at its source, plucked flowers from stalks that had 
never been transplanted, and read the volume of nature in 
the first edition, without note or comment. He was one of 
nature's great men. 

But to return to our McKendree, let us just glance at 
his social habits. This was one of his strong points. He 
knew the way to the confidence of the people, and was by 
no means indifferent to their good opinion. He was not one 
of that kind of men who do not care what others think of 
them. He understood perfectly the peculiarities of the dif- 
ferent classes and conditions of human society, from presi- 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 57 

dents and senators down to tlie humblest shoeblack, and was 
never out of place, no matter where you found him. In the 
crowded hotel, stages, and steamboats, the elegant parlors of 
the rich, or the humble cottage of the backwoodsman, or 
even the sinks of poverty and wretchedness, he always knew 
how to behave himself, and did not think it either weak or 
wicked to do so. The result was, all classes united in pro- 
nouncing him a perfect Christian gentleman; yet all the 
while very modest and unassuming, making no great preten- 
sions in any way. So perfectly natural was his politeness, 
that no one ever thought for a moment that there was any 
thing like affectation about him. He did not regard rough- 
ness, coarseness, and bluntness, as the insignia of internal 
piety, but allowed no one to behave more handsomely than 
himself ; and if he considered that a compliment was de- 
served, it was not beneath his dignity to bestow it. 

I recollect once, while travelling with him, on reaching the 
house of an old friend in the interior of Mississippi, several 
persons came together in the evening, expecting that he 
would preach to them, but he was too feeble to undertake it. 
Among the number was a lady, an old Virginia acquaintance 
of his, of fine mind and manners, who seemed to be afflicted 
by the disappointment. She at length told the Bishop that 
her husband was hauling his cotton to market, and all the 
horses were in the wagons, so that there was nothing on the 
place for her to ride, and that she had come some three miles 
on foot, which she did not think she could have done but for 
the hope of hearing him preach. The Bishop, turning toward 
her, his countenance lit up with a smile, answered by saying, 
" Sister, if you only knew the pleasure it gives me to see 
you, I do not think you would reproach yourself for having 
taken so long a walk." The lady afterward was heard to say 



58 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



that slie never felt herself so mucli eomplimented in her life 
before. Yet he never v^ent anywhere that he did not carry 
the meek and lowly Saviour of the world with him ; neither 
would he long continue where Christ was not welcome. And 
it was next to impossible to keep his society without being 
impressed with the loveliness and purity of the religion he 
professed. 

As to attention to appearance, on this subject even he was 
not indifferent. "While there was nothing gaudy or extrava- 
gant in his wardrobe, yet he dressed well. He exhibited a full 
share of neatness and cleanliness in dress and person. He 
generally went clean-shaved, and his head combed. "When 
well dressed, according to his taste, you would find him with 
a long-waisted, single-breasted black cloth coat, black vest 
and breeches, and long black stockings, well-polished shoes 
with silver buckles, a white linen stock, and broad-brimmed 
hat ; and I must confess that I have looked upon him some- 
times, when thus attired, and regarded him as the most noble 
and dignified-looking man I ever saw. 

With regard to his ability as a p>ulpit orator, his excellency 
consisted mainly in his power of analysis. In this respect, I 
doubt if I ever heard his superior. He was not wanting in 
description and pathos. In declamation he did not often in- 
dulge, though he had considerable power in that direction ; 
but in argument he was overwhelming. He knew the truth, 
and was wonderfully gifted in telling it in such manner as 
to impress it on the mind of the hearer. He discriminated 
with great precision and accuracy; while his selection of 
words was so appropriate, and his taste so pure, that he 
might be regarded as almost faultless. Falsehood, error, and 
sophistry, were hunted down and dislodged from their hiding- 
places, while truth stood forth in bold relief. "Woe to the 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 



59 



man who exposed Hmself to tlie keen edge of Ms criticism 
and mighty force of argument ! 

As to manner, he was perfectly natural and easy, with not 
much action, unless when greatly excited; then every ges- 
ture spoke. He was always himself both in manner and 
matter; and though he did not write much for the pulpit, 
yet his subjects were generally well studied. His enuncia- 
tion was good, his voice fine and full — the lowest tones of it 
could be heard throughout the congregation ; still there was 
a slight natural defect in his utterance, which consisted in 
his occasionally hesitating or dwelling upon a word. Yet he 
managed this defect so handsomely that it became an orna- 
ment, from the fact that he rested or made his swell on the 
most important word in the sentence, so that it had the 
effect of a well-directed emphasis. His sermons were gene- 
rally short, particularly in the last years of his ministry, and 
gave evidence of being greatly condensed. His jpublic prayers 
were simple, comprehensive, and brief, while they seemed to 
be the very essence of humility and breath of devotion. 

As to his habits, he was remarkably systematic. He lived 
by rule. He retired generally at nine o'clock and arose at 
five. Any thing that could be done to-day, he never put off 
until to-morrow. Every thing was in its place — every thing- 
was done at the time. The Bishop having several times no- 
ticed the trouble a gentleman with whom he sometimes 
stayed had in finding his hat, said to him at length, ''I can 
put you upon a plan by which you can always tell where your 
hat is, which is this : have but two places for it : let one of 
them be your head, the other the nail ; and when you can- 
not find it on your head, look for it on the nail, and when 
you cannot find it on the nail, you may be sure it is on your 
head!" The gentleman said he adopted the Bishop's plan. 



60 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



and, by carrying out tlie suggestion, got clear of at least one 
of his difficulties. 

He kept house, as the Rev. Mr. Axley used to say, in his 
saddlebags, at least for the first twenty years of his ministry. 
And I have often heard it said that he could put more into 
one pair of saddlebags than any other man, while that which 
he wanted first was always at the top. He knew so well how 
to pack and store away whatever he wished to carry with 
him, that he could lay his hand upon any article that he 
wanted in the middle of the darkest night without light. 
He did not throw and scatter his efiects all about the house, 
to be gathered up and taken care of by others, but always 
attended to his own baggage ; and it mattered not who was 
going to start on a journey with him — no matter what hour 
of the day or night — nine times out of ten, he would be the 
first one ready : no one ever had to wait for him. He lived 
on simple, plain diet, and, as far as my recollection extends, 
could eat any thing that other people ate, and asked no ques- 
tions. I was well acquainted with four of his homes, as he 
called them, and with one voice those who entertained him 
declared that he gave less trouble than any other person that 
ever came about their houses. This has its effect in making 
guests welcome. 

"With respect to his financial ability, he had a very large 
capacity to manage money matters, the best evidence of 
which is found in the fact, that while his income was only 
one hundred dollars per year, besides his travelling expenses, 
he so managed his affairs as to keep out of debt, to aid in the 
support of his father and sister, and contributed something to 
other relatives. He also gave to the public charities of the 
Church, and was ever mindful of the poor and needy, and 
yet at his death had several thousand dollars to divide be- 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 61 

tween liis relatives and tlie institutions of tlie Clinrcli. He 
but seldom talked of liis temporalities, tliougli lie once told 
me that lie never was out of money after lie liad grown up to 
be a man, except in a single instance, and tlien a kind Pro- 
vidence came to bis relief. The instance, as I recollect it, 
was as follows : He bad been on a long, bard tour, and was 
witbin one day's journey of bis bead-quarters, wbere be bad 
some money, but bis tavern -bill took as precisely bis last 
cent as if tbe innkeeper bad known tbe amount and made 
bis bill to suit ; still be felt no great concern about it, because 
tbe days were sbort and cold, and botb bis borse and bimself 
could stand it very well till nigbt, wben be would find relief. 
But on leaving tbe inn, be found bis borse bad lost a sboe, 
and tbe foot was so very tender tbat be did not tbink be 
would be able to get bim over tbe rocky road tbat lay before 
bim. Tbe difficulty is, my borse must bave a sboe, and I 
bave no quarter to pay for one. "^ATiat sballldo?" And 
just as be was beginning to feel tbis embarrassment, it com- 
menced snowing, and snowed rapidly until a beautiful soft 
carpet covered bis way, and made tbe travelling more plea- 
sant botb to bimself and borse tban if tbere bad been a sboe 
on bis foot. ISiO man bad more confidence in God, or a 
greater reliance on Providence, tban Bisbop McKendree ; 
but be took care not to expect Providence to do for bim wbat 
be could and ougbt to do for bimself. 

"Witb respect to bis official character, wbile be was yet 
young in tbe ministry, bis brethren saw in him tbe capacity 
to govern, as well as a disposition to obey; and they judge 
correctly who suppose that those only who know bow to obey 
will make good governors. The high estimation placed upon 
bim by the venerable Asbury is shown in the fact that be 
selected bim from among many to take charge of the exten- 



62 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



sive work in tlie Mississippi Yalley ; and wlien lie liad been 
eiglit years in tliat field, in the General Conference held in 
1808, lie was elected and ordained Bishop of the Methodist 
Episcopal Chnrch, by which his field of labor was extended 
and his responsibilities greatly increased. 

In selecting "William McKendree as one of our general 
superintendents, the Church made no mistake : time proved 
that he was the very man for the work. It is matter of 
gratitude and praise to Almighty God that thus far the 
Bishops of our Church have been true and faithful men; 
and in no instance has any reproach or scandal fallen upon 
the Church on their account ; which, I believe, cannot truth- 
fully be said of any other Church. As regards his adminis- 
trative powers, I do not think I ever knew his superior. He 
was less dependent on the Presiding Elders for information 
than any other of our Bishops except Bishop Asbury. As 
the work was not so much extended as at present, and as he 
had no family to take care of, he was enabled to travel 
throughout the length and breadth of the country, so that 
his information with respect to the state and condition of the 
Church was direct ; and being particularly gifted in observa- 
tion, it was only necessary that any matter of interest should 
come within his reach, when it was at once seen, understood, 
and never forgotten. And it was not necessary that you 
should tell him all of any thing to enable him to understand 
it : tell him a little, and, as by intuition, he would know the 
rest. He was a man of peace ; but if nothing but war would 
do, he was always found armed and ready to defend the 
cause of truth. 

As a presiding officer, he was always up with the business 
of the Conference, understood the question in debate, and 
the wandering speaker had nothing else to expect but to be 



WILLIAM MCKENDEEE. 63 

reined to tlie track. As a judge of Cliurcli law, lie was 
superior, ready, prompt, and clear. I never knew even an 
appeal from Ms decision of a question of order sustained. 

As to his general information, lie was an extensive reader : 
almost every subject was more or less familiar to liim. You 
would never find him ignorant of tkose things tliat interest 
liumanity; and no matter wliat the topic of conversation 
miglit be, you would find bim in possession of correct in- 
formation. He was remarkable in tbis, that bis knowledge 
always seemed to be accurate, wbile a majority of poor erring 
mortals are balf tbeir time wrong. 

He was a man of strong attachments, and no doubt preju- 
dices too ; but tbey were so controlled and subdued tbat tbey 
did not affect bis general character. His sense of propriety 
was so thorough and just that it always gave his sensitive 
nature pain to see it violated ; so that once in a while, when 
he became old and infirm, he would manifest a little im- 
patience where he saw gross departures from the correct rules 
of propriety, particularly among the preachers, all of whom 
he looked upon as his children. This had a tendency to 
make young ministers shy of him, and more or less embar- 
rassed in his presence, which he knew and lamented. 0, 
how mistaken was that minister, no matter who he was, who 
did not desire the presence, advice, counsel, and even re- 
proof, of our now sainted McKendree ! ITever did a father 
love his children more than he loved the preachers. They 
were the joy of his great heart and the pride of his life. Many 
a time, when I have been travelling with him, when fatigue 
and bodily suffering had borne him down until he would 
seem to be scarcely able to live, just let two or three preach- 
ers from the neighborhood or town, as the case might be, 
call in to see him, and join in easy conversation, he would 



64 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



spring again to life, liis countenance glow witli pleasure, his 
eyes kindle witli cleliglit, wliile tlie scenes of otlier days were 
talked over, and friend after friend inquired after. But 
occasionally his manner of conversation was so critical that 
it would embarrass those with whom he conversed. I recol- 
lect one instance when the brother said that he felt all the 
time that he was conversing vnth the Bishop as if he were 
upon oath. Yet this disposition to criticism did not dispose 
him to controversy in private : that he alwaj's avoided when 
he could do so without leaving truth to suffer. But woe to 
the man who provoked him into argument ! I have in my 
mind one case which will illustrate this trait of his character. 

I think in the year 1830, while descending the Mississippi 
on a large steamer, crowded with passengers, the weather 
being cold, we were compelled to live in close community 
about the stove. The company was a mixed one — old and 
young, ladies and gentlemen — so that various subjects of con- 
versation were up from time to time ; until an old laTs^er 
and politician, who no doubt mistook the Bishop's character 
in part, thinking that the Church had made a Bishop of him 
on account of his goodness and lamb-like nature, never for 
once supposing that there was any of the lion in him, con- 
cluded, no doubt, that he would make some capital by a 
controversy with him on Church -government. A greater 
mistake no poor man ever made, for the Bishop would have 
been more than his equal on any subject, and on that of 
Church - government he was too strong for any one, for he 
had given to that subject extraordinary attention. Having 
been a little troubled in that direction in his youth, he had 
thrashed, fanned, and sifted it with his powerful intellect for 
years, until there was not a comma, a crossed t, or dotted i, 
in the whole empire of Church-government which he did not 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 



65 



have by heart and at Ms tongue's end. The old Colonel 
commenced by saying to the Bishop that he differed with 
him on Church-government ; to which the Bishop answered 
by saying, ''So, so The Colonel, finding that he had not 
got the Bishop off to his liking, said next that he thought 
the Bishops of the Methodist Church had too much power. 
The Bishop answered by saying that he wished he had more 
powxr than he had — that he once had power enough to travel 
round this continent in a year ; " but now," said he, "I hardly 
have power enough to walk." This produced a laugh around 
the circle, which was any thing but comfortable to the 
Colonel ; so at once he commenced an argument against the 
government of the Church and power of the Bishops. Find- 
ing that nothing else but a controversy would do him, the 
Bishop met him promptly with a force that evidently over- 
powered him. The Colonel rallied, and came again to the 
attack ; but was again routed with great slaughter as to his 
arguments. ISText he attempted an escape, without calling 
for quarter, by saying that he had not words to express his 
ideas, or he would make it appear very different. But the 
Bishop had determined that as nothing but a contest would 
do him, he would make him cry out. The Bishop repeated 
slowly the words of the old Colonel: ''Words, words,'' said 
the Bishop; "words to express your ideas I Words," said he, 
"are the signs of ideas; and you cannot have ideas without 
signs. ITow," said he, "friend, if you have any ideas that 
you have not conveyed, you have received and retained those 
ideas by a certain set of signs. They may not be the best 
signs for the purpose, but do you use just such signs as you 
have, and I will undertake to understand them, l^ow," said 
he, "use your signs,'' and dropped his head, and all sat in per- 
fect silence for half a minute, waiting for the signs to be 
5 



66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

used ; but not one word was said. The Bishop then looked 
him fiercely in the face and said, with a measure of earnest- 
ness not common to him, " Use your signs and another pause 
ensued, and to the poor Colonel it was an awful pause. But 
no signs were given. Then said the Bishop : " Friend, you 
are mistaken : it is the want of ideas." I felt too badly for 
the poor Colonel myself to laugh ; bu.t the sympathies of the 
circle were with the Bishop, and the controversy closed by a 
burst of laughter at the Colonel's expense. After a while, 
when the Bishop and myself retired to the state-room, for me 
to read to him, which he requested me to do at stated periods, 
I said to him, "You treated that gentleman too bad." He 
answered by saying, '•'-Let Mm let me alone!''' 

There was one thing which the Bishop never seemed to 
enjoy, which was, to be questioned: though fond of conver- 
sation, a number of questions asked in quick succession were 
sure to procure short answers. I recollect one circumstance 
of the kind. A gentleman who lived in the city of ITashville, 
who was in the habit of asking a number of questions with- 
out waiting for answers, put quite a string of them to the 
Bishop. "When he had gotten through, "^Tow," said the 
Bishop, "which one of your questions shall I answer first?" 
The brother laughed, but made no reply. The Bishop con- 
tinued: "Your mind makes me think of a prairie on fire: 
the wind pressing in on all sides, it drives first one way and 
then another, so that you cannot tell with certainty how to 
run to it or from it ; and I am afraid if I were to attempt to 
answer one of your questions, you would run over me with 
another before I could get out of the way." 

In nothing was the character of the Bishop more strongly 
marked than in his decision and firmness. He had his 
own thoughts, and came to his own conclusions ; and while 

1 



WILLIAM MCKENDEEE. 



67 



he was ever ready to liear tlie views of others, and be advised, 
yet liis own mind had to be made up. For the most part, 
he came to his conclusions rapidly, notwithstanding he seemed 
to step cautiously. This arose, no doubt, from the fact that 
his perception was extraordinary and his reasoning powers 
very strong. Yet I never knew any man who seemed to suf- 
fer more than he did when he felt that his own conviction 
compelled him to go contrary to the views or wishes of his 
brethren. 

I will here give one strongly-marked case in point. In the 
autumn of 1833, when the Tennessee Conference met in the 
town of Pulaski, the Bishop who was expected, from some 
cause, did not reach the Conference. Bishop McKendree 
was present, and, notwithstanding he was superannuated, 
took charge of the business of the Conference ; and in the 
stationing-room there was not a little trouble and difficulty. 
And as some facts will come to the public now for the first 
time, I think it best to give names. 

The Eev. Thomas L. Douglass, who was then quite an old 
man, and pretty well worn out in the work, had been for the 
three preceding years on the ITashville District, and as the 
law of the Church would allow him to continue another year, 
it was his pleasure to do so. But between him and a portion 
of the stewards in the bounds of the District difficulties had 
sprung up : not that there was any thing against the moral 
character of Brother Douglass — in that respect he was un- 
spotted ; neither was it because they did not like his preach- 
ing, for he was an able minister. The difficulty was wholly 
on the subject of finance, and grew out of the manner in 
which the stewards settled with the preachers and Presiding 
Elder. The Presiding Elder, by the law of the Church, is 
expected to share jpro rata with the preachers, but the 



68 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

Stewards cousidered tliat they had discretionary powers ; and 
as Brother Douglass was well oS—ricJi, as they said — and the 
preachers generally poor, they saw canse sometimes to pay 
the preachers more than their proportion and the Presiding 
Elder less. This Brother Douglass protested against, and 
contended that the Presiding Elder's portion was his own, 
and that he alone had the right to dispose of it. This dis- 
agreement became so strongly fixed that there seemed to he 
no hope for the better ; and the stewards from several Circuits 
sent up petitions to the Bishop not to return Brother Douglass 
to the District. Brother Douglass took the position that if 
he had not done the work assigned him as a Presiding Elder, 
he ought to be removed, but would not consent to be removed 
on the oTOunds uro-ed ao^ainst him. "W^hile this was the state 
of afiairs, the Bishop consulted the other Presiding Elders, 
and they advised that Brother Douglass should not be re- 
turned to the District. At about eleven o'clock on the Tues- 
day night of the Conference, a servant came into my room 
and said that the Bishop wanted to see me. Supposing the 
Bishop was unwell, I hastened to his room. On entering, I 
found him alone, his long staff in his hand, walking to and 
fro, in apparently troubled haste. I said, "How are you. 
Bishop?" Stopping suddenly, he gave me a look I shall 
never forget, and said, ^^I am distressed! I am distressed and 
again commenced walking the room. I at length said, 
'•What is it distresses you. Bishop ?" to which he answered, 
'•Brother Douo-lass — Brother Douo:lass : what shall I do T\uth 
Brother Dousrlass ?" Knovrino^ nothino; of the difficulties in 
Brother Douglass's case, and such being the apparent pres- 
sure on the mind and heart of the Bishop, it alarmed me, 
thinking that something dreadful had turned up>. I at once 
asked what was the matter with him. He then gave the facts 



WILLIAM MCKENDREE. 69 

as stated above with, respect to the opposition and advice of 
the Presiding Elders, who had but a short time before left 
his room. " The stewards request me not to send him back, 
and the elders advise accordingly. What shall I do f what 
shall I do V I said to him : "After all, you are the only re- 
sponsible man, and will have to do just as you think will be 
for the best." He then went on to remark about as follows : 
"I know Brother Douglass — have known him long — have 
known him well — known him in times of trouble : he stood 
firm when others faltered. I know him better than the 
stewards — better than the Presiding Elders : he is a true 
man — Thomas Logan Douglass is a true man!" He then 
went on to say: "He is an old man: this is to be his last 
efiective year in the ministry. If I do not return him to the 
District, he sinks at once, and will have neither time nor 
strength to recover. Yes, he will be an injured man in the' 
estimation of his brethren — injured in the house of his 
friends." He further remarked: "It is a small matter for 
his brethren to bear with him one year, though they may 
differ in their views of finance ; but it is no small matter to 
imbitter the declining years of an old man and faithful ser- 
vant of the Church." Then, as though it required the gather- 
ing up of his strengtli for the act, he said: "In the name of 
the Lord, I will send Brother Douglass back to the E'ashville 
District." And it is a most glorious fact, that from the very 
beginning to the close of the year, lie rose continually ; and 
left the District, at the end of his term, witli more popularity 
than he had ever before enjoyed. At Conference, he took a 
supernumerary relation, and remained a favorite with his 
brethren till by death he was removed to his home in the 
skies. Wliat a delightful thought that these two old faithful 
servants of God and the Church are resting together in 



70 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



heaven to-day, where there is no midnight distress, or mis- 
understanding among brethren ! 

The Bishop was very much devoted to his old friends. I 
was holding a camp -meeting, I think in 1834, at what was 
called Old Salem, in Sumner county, which the Bishop at- 
tended, and we were also favored with the x^rcsence of the 
Eev. William Burke, who had come out from Cincinnati, 
Ohio, to visit a relative in the neighborhood of the 
camp-ground. I had the pleasure of seeing the Bishop and 
Mr. Burke meet. They held each other's grasp for some 
time, the Bishop saying, " I am very happy to see you once 
more at camp-meeting;" while Mr. Burke says, "We have 
camped together before. Bishop." Tears came into their 
eyes. They talked together by the hour of other days, with 
an evident pleasure which was refreshing to observe. Mr. 
Burke was not at that time in connection with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, but was the pastor of an independent con- 
gregation in Cincinnati ; yet I put him up to preach, so that 
the thousands that attended the meeting had the great pleasure 
of hearing each of these two old veterans preach once a day 
for three successive days ; and I would perform a pilgrimage 
now to enjoy such a privilege again. 

Soon after this meeting was over, the Bishop said to me, 
"I would like to live till the next G-eneral Conference for one 
thing." "What is that, Bishop?" "I want to see Brother 
Burke back again in his place in the Church." Although 
the Bishop did not live to attend the Conference, yet Mr. 
Burke was restored, and died in the Church. 

With regard to the extent of the labors of the Bishop, we 
may safely say that he wore himself out, in the strictest 
sense of the word. iN'o rust ever gathered upon him. He 
was in every valley, crossed all the mountains, all the 



WILLIAM MCKENDEEE. 



71 



streams : his voice was heard in the crowded cities and 
sparsely-settled frontier ; and in all these lands he raised the 
standard of the cross, and showed to fallen man the way to 
heaven through Jesus Christ. He even forced his way among 
the tribes of Indians on our borders, and, through interpre- 
ters, pointed them to the Lamb of God that taketh away the 
sin of the world. He was one of the few aged persons of 
whom it may be said, they live till they die. He wrote but little 
for the press, although he would no doubt have been a writer 
of great ability if he had been placed under circumstances 
suited to the development of his powers in that direction. 
His life was spent in the field : he was always on the wing, 
and had not time to write much beyond his correspondence, 
which was for many years very extensive ; and as a letter- 
writer he was a perfect model. In the main, he labored for 
immediate effect. 

From his great exposure, he became an asthmatic sufferer, 
and was also troubled with neuralgia, so that for several of 
the last years of his life he was exceedingly feeble ; yet he 
preached frequently up to within a few weeks of his death. 
His last sermon was in the church that bears his name in the 
city of E"ashville, which the writer of this sketch had the 
privilege of hearing. I can in my imagination see him this 
moment, as he last stood on the walls of Zion with his sickle 
in his hand : the gray hairs thinly covering his forehead, his 
pale and withered face, his benignant countenance, his speak- 
ing eye ; while a deep undercurrent of thought, scarcely 
veiled by the external lineaments, took form in words, and 
fell from his trembling lips, as, by the eye of faith, he 
transcended the boundaries of time and entered upon the 
eternal world. But he is drawing to the close of his sermon. 
!N"ow, for the last time, he bends himself and reaches his 



72 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

sickle fortli to reap tlie fields ripe for the harvest. How 
balmy the name of Christ as he breathes it forth, standing as 
it were midway between heaven and earth, and pointing to the 
home of the faithful in the sky ! I look again : the sickle 
sways in his hand, his strength is measured out, and he 
closes up his ministerial labors on earth with the words, ''i 
add no more,'" while imagination hears the response from the 
invisible glory, ''It is enough!''' 

A short time after, he left the city to visit his brother and 
other relations in Sumner county. When about to leave, a 
friend said to him, "Bishop, when do you tJiink you will be 
back again?" He answered by saying, ''I do not think my- 
self back at all : I can only think myself to Sumner now. I 
cannot think myself far ahead these days. Should I get to 
Sumner, I may then, after a while, think myself back again. 
I once laid far-reaching plans, running through a whole year ; 
but now my plans are not more than of one day's length." 

He was at that time suffering with an inflammation of the 
forefinger of the right hand. A few days before, a little por- 
tion of the skin had become loosened by the side of the nail ; 
attempting to pull it ofi", it reached the quick, and made the 
place a little sore. In writing, the ink from his pen got into 
the place, and he thought poisoned it. His finger continued 
to inflame, and became very painful: this deprived him of 
his accustomed rest, and was apparently the immediate cause 
of his death. He was enabled, however, to reach his brother's 
house in Sumner county, where he had the presence of his 
relatives and the kind attention of his beloved sister, Nancy, 
as he called her, whom he had always cherished with a bro- 
ther's love. Soon after reaching his friends in Sumner, he 
took his bed, from which he arose no more. He was for a 
short time during his last illness troubled a little in mind ; 



WILLIAM MCKENDEEE. 73 

wliicli one writer calls a temptation. The nature of the afflic- 
tion I perfectly understood, having conversed with him on 
the subject. It was as follows : He always had a strong de- 
sire to be useful as long as he lived, and could not bear the 
idea of becoming a burden ; and finding that he could no 
longer go in and out among the people, and be of service to 
the Church, he was fearful that he might become too anxious 
to depart, and not with sufficient resignation wait the Lord's 
time. A strong desire to depart and be with Christ will be 
regarded by many in another light than that of a temptation. 

He suffered considerably during this illness, though in the 
last few days of his life he was free from pain. His sweet- 
ness of temper, his words of kindness, his strong, unshaken 
faith, made ever-during impressions on all around him. He 
was constantly saying some kind thing to those who attended 
him. Once when he awoke from sleep, he said to his sister 
and nieces, who were watching by his bedside, "You are 
like lamps burning while I sleep, to cheer me when I v/ake." 

It was the high privilege of the writer to spend a night 
with him just before his death. 0, how rich were the words 
that fell from his lips ! Among other things, I at one time 
said to him, "Bishop, I may live when you have passed 
away, and wherever I go your friends will want to hear from 
you: what shall I say to them?" To which he answered, 
" Tell them for me, that whether for time or for eternity, 
Airs loelir' This was a favorite saying with the Bishop, 
and was the last connected sentence that ever fell from his 
lips. 

On the 5th of March, 1835, he rendered up to the Church 
the parchment he had so long held as a minister of Christ, 
as pure and unspotted as a flake of mountain snow. A smile 
passed over his face, he took his leave of the Church mill- 



74 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



tant, gathered up his feet, tlie eartli swept from beneath him, 
the heavens were opened, the chariot passed over the ever- 
lasting hills, now loaded with sheaves gathered from the 
harvest -field of this world's ruin, and, with the approving 
sentence from his Lord, "Well done, good and faithful ser- 
vant," like a wreath circling his brow, and the shout of 
welcome from all heaven, "Enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord," he passed through the gates into the city. 




ENGRAVED BY TBymLCJi/EHIL ^^iFSOMJUJASUEEEEarXPE 



WL E ¥.3 W n n.^ 0 ^ Mi rn ^ [p- E K! 



WILLIAM CAPERS. 



75 



WILLIAM CAPEES. 

BY WILLIAM M. WIGHTMAN, D. D. 

The beautiful and boundless variety of nature may be 
traced in tbe moral world also. Manifold are the types of 
excellence to be noted in tbose instrumentalities wbich are 
taken up by a gracious God into bis plans for tbe spiritual 
renovation of tbe world. In one man, we observe a wonder- 
ful depth of intellect ; in another, the predominance of the 
emotional nature. One exhibits an imperial spread of ima- 
gination ; another, a vast practical energy, a special tact for 
government. Here is the severe logician — a John "Wesley ; 
there the captivating orator — a George Whitefield. Bascom 
sweeps with arrowy rush through the airy regions of the 
sublime ; Olin, unique, colossal, searches the abysses of the 
soul ; Capers, master of a style copious, elegant, and felici- 
tous, captivates by the charm of genuine refinement. How 
different each of these from all the rest ! and yet each is 
peerless in his own department — a model preacher — a study. 
By this rich variety of endowment is the edification of the 
Church sought to be promoted by its Divine Head. There 
are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." 

Dr. Capers long enjoyed a national reputation. He was 
indeed worthy of all honor. His was the manly nobility of 



76 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



character wliicli every one admires in an eminent man, and 
tlie vital Tvarmtli tliat wins hearts. The elegance of a fin- 
ished gentleman in manners was in him combined with the 
simplicity, purity, and benevolence of a deeply -spiritual 
Christian. He shone in the pnlpit, in the Conference, in the 
social circle; was one of the most interesting companions 
one ever travelled with ; and was just the sort of spiritual 
adviser and comforter one would desire in time of distress, 
sickness, or at the approach of death. On many accounts, 
then, he presents a character which it is equally pleasant and 
profitable to contemplate. 

"William Capers was born in St. Thomas's Parish, in South 
Carolina, January 26, 1790. His birthplace was at his father's 
winter residence, some twenty miles from the city of Charles- 
ton. He came of a Huguenot family. His father. Major 
William Capers, was a planter in handsome circumstances ; 
had been a brave soldier of the Revolution, and held a com- 
mission in the Second Continental Eegiment, raised by the 
State of South Carolina. He was in the battles of Fort 
Moultrie and Eutaw ; was in the sieges of Charleston and 
Savannah; and afterward served with Marion. After the 
war, he was among the first who joined the ^dethodists in his 
native State, and his house was one of Bishop Asbury's 
homes. He was the worthv sire of a distino-uished son. 

William's early life was very happy. In his twelfth year, 
he was sent to a boarding-school at some distance from home, 
where privations and hardships served to strengthen his con- 
stitution and train his powers of self-reliance. In his six- 
teenth year, he was admitted into the Sophomore class in the 
South Carolina College. Before the time of graduation, 
however, he left college, and began the study of law with 
Judge Richardson. His religious training at home had pre- 



WILLIAM CAPERS. 77 

served liis morals from tlie vitiating influences wliich, at 
college, too often blight yontliful character and promise, and 
from tlie dry-rot of deistical principles, wliicli at that time 
were popular among many of his young contemporaries. 
But he was ambitious and gay, popular among the ladies, 
and fond of the excitement of the ball-room. 

In 1808, he was brought to the personal experience of the 
grace of God, and happily converted in the family circle, 
while his venerable father was engaged in prayer. He em- 
braced the earliest opportunity of joining the Methodist 
Church, going into that measure, by which he finally and for 
ever broke with the world, with singular simplicity and 
whole-heartedness. In a few weeks, he accepted a cordial 
invitation given him by the preacher in charge of the cir- 
cuit, the Eev. "William Gassaway, to accompany him on his 
round of appointments. His law-books were thrown aside ; 
and without any definite convictions as to the duty of preach- 
ing, but mainly for the spiritual profit he anticipated from 
the society of his friend Gassaway, he set out with him. 
Much to his astonishment, at the close of the first service 
after he had taken the circuit, he was invited into the pulpit 
and bidden to exhort. It was the first time he had heard the 
word, in its technical sense. He thought to himself, the 
word must come from exliortof — that means, to beseech 
earnestly: he was taken by the hand and helped into the 
pulpit; and there commenced his brilliant career as a 
preacher. 

Before his six months' trial was over, he was recommended 
to the Annual Conference, his conviction being now clear 
that God had called him to the work of the ministry. Bishops 
Asbury and McKendree were present at the Conference where 
he was admitted into the travelling Connection. His first 



78 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

circuit was called tlie Wateree : it embraced twenty-four ap- 
pointments, was a four weeks' circuit, and about tliree hun- 
dred miles around. He was sent tliere alone and in cbaro^e. 
He attended faitlifallv to liis duties during tlie year, liaving 
missed but a single appointment, and tliat on account of rain. 
His next circuit was Pedee, fi'om wMcli be was removed, at 
tbe second quarterly meeting, to tbe town of Fayetteville, 
X. C, where be spent tbe remainder of tbe year witb mucb 
pleasure to bimself and advantage to tbe flock. 

He bad now passed bis novitiate, was elected a member of 
tbe Soutb Carolina Conference, and ordained deacon by 
Bisbop Asbury. Tbe next year was spent in Charleston, and 
tbe following on the Orangeburg Circuit, and then he was 
ordained elder by Bishop McKendree, and stationed in TTil- 
ming-ton, X. C. 

On his way to this appointment he was married. Wil- 
mington was one of the three stations in the Conference 
which had parsonages. This preachers' house had nothing 
to boast of in point of size or accommodations. The two 
sleeping apartments were just high enough to allow an 
ordinary-sized man to stand upright with his hat off. !Mr. 
Capers consoled himself witb the reflection that hats were 
made to be worn out of doors. He bad a young, charmingly 
beautiful, and deeply pious wife, whom he loved with pas- 
sionate fondness, to share the accommodations of this humble 
parsonage with him, I dare say, under the circumstances, 
the inmates of a palace might well have envied him his hap- 
piness. 

His next circuit was among his relatives, where he had no 
need of a parsonage. He was a rising man, full of youthful 
vigor, with the promise of many years of distinguished use- 
fulness before him. But he was married, and the Church in 



i 



W.ILLIAM CAPERS. 79 

those days made no provision for married preacliers. Tlie 
popular doctrine was, tliat when a minister married, he must 
locate. In his circumstances, there seemed no alternative : it 
cost him much trouble of mind, many hours of anxious de- 
liberation ; but the result was his location. And now a small 
farm was settled : hard work at the plough all the week, and 
preaching at some neighboring church on Sunday ; but that 
lovely young wife turned the farm into a paradise. The year 
fled on rapid wing ; but before the snows of December lay 
on the ground, that beautiful being is no more ! At one 
sharp stroke, the desire of his eyes is taken from him. 
Enough of the farm now. The lesson was solemn, but well 
improved. Thenceforth, a full consecration to the work of 
the ministry was the result. 

In 1818, he was readmitted into the Conference, and sta- 
tioned in Columbia, and the two following years in Sa- 
vannah, Ga. 

In 1820, he was for the first time elected a delegate to the 
General Conference. "William Capers is now a man. ^He is 
thirty years old, and has won a name in the Church. Let us 
look at him more minutely. 

His stature is five feet and some nine inches. His face is 
finely moulded, and animate with blended intelligence and 
kindness. His eye is black, lustrous, and full of power. As 
for his voice, it is ''musical as Apollo's lute." In listening 
to one of his discourses, the first thing that strikes you is 
the wonderful fluency of the man. He goes on and on, like 
some fine instrument wound up and set agoing — smoothly, 
easily, naturally, the right words coming in at the right 
place. These words, too, are all orthodox, good, old English 
words, easy to be understood even in the galleries. An air 
of classic elegance, in the vein of the old Horatian " simplex 



J 



80 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

rfumditus^' pervades tlie Tvliole affair. There is uo strain after 
sonorous, Johnsonian terms, no building np of magnilocjuent 
periods. 

Then, yon are struck Trith another thing : there is a mani- 
fest aspect of originality in his treatment of the matter in 
hand. He nses no formal divisions or subdivisions. His 
method is distinct though peculiar. There is a central 
point, the key-position of the sermon, on which all the re- 
marks are founded, and vdiich the listener presently com- 
mands. This is the point of view which gives yon a sight 
of the whole lield. The route to this may have seemed, and 
acttially been, somewhat circtiitous ; but the preacher was 
taking no random steps : he saw from the first his distances 
and bearings. He is capable of discussing the great prin- 
ciple, whatever it may be, contained in his text, without the 
artificial helps of heads of discourse formally announced at 
the outset. 

Again, his modes of argumentation and illtistration seem 
to be^r the impress of original mental elaboration, and to 
owe A'cry little, if any thing, to profotmd scholarship and ex- 
tensive and variotis reading. His mind is much more of a 
self-fed, copious spring, than of a capaciotis reservoir into 
which other men's thoughts have been ptimped. He has 
studied evidently and thoroughly two great books, however — 
the Bible and man. He has refiected profotmdly upon the 
great law of adjtistment between the former and the latter, 
and searched out the manifold relations of this law. He has 
a firm hold upon the central pectiliarities of the gospel — its 
atoning sacrifice, its promised Spirit of grace. The bent of 
his genius does not lie in the direction of metaphysical 
speculation: he takes his premises as the gospel gives them, 
without going back of the revelation to inquire for the 



WILLIAM CAPERS. 



81 



reasons. He lias fancy ratlier tlian imagination ; an intellect 
acnte, masculine, ready, rather tlian tlie widest spread of the 
faculty of generalization. You have heard of his fame for 
eloquence ; you expect perhaps to listen to the full, grand, 
orchestral swell of Olin, or the booming thunder of Bascom. 
But the forte of Capers is not the grand and overwhelming. 
He reminds you rather of a beautiful summer sunrise, with 
the sparkle of its dewdrops, the melodies of its birds, the 
freshness of its breeze. 

He was fond of preaching on the parables and the leading 
historic incidents embraced in the Gospel narrative. In 
treating this class of subjects, his powers of fine discrimina- 
tion, his tact in dissecting character, his minute tracery of 
motive, his fertility of illustration and fervor of devotional 
feeling, were all shown in a masterly style. His ordinary 
preaching kept the level of a solemn, animated, edifying 
appeal to the reason and conscience of his audience. 

Sometimes, when a special occasion awakened powerfully 
his emotional nature, and he was roused to the fall strength 
of his intellect, his preaching was great — sublime. In 1822, 
at the Rembert's camp-ground, he preached a sermon on the 
text, " Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, thou that dwell- 
est between the cherubim, shine forth." His subject was the 
developments of Providence and the manifestations of grace. 
From all I have heard of that sermon, I doubt if it was ever 
surpassed, if equalled, in South Carolina. 

During the same year, at a camp -meeting in Putnam 
county, Ga., in the presence of an overwhelming audience, 
after an eloquent sermon preached by Dr. Pierce, he delivered 
an exhortation the effect of which will never be forgotten. 
In this he rose to the highest mood of impassioned feeling. 
He seemed to drive the chariot of the earthquake, his steeds 
6 



82 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

the storm-clouds. Tlie world of woe, at Ms bidding, un- 
covered its liorrors, and its despair-riven victims, incarnated, 
so to speak, and voiced, passed in awful procession before 
the audience, crying. Woe, woe, woe ! The very heavens 
seemed to send back, in reverberating crashes, these terrific 
woes. The effect was awful beyond description. One gentle- 
man was put into a state of derangement. Judge Shorter, 
who was present, declared to a friend, some days after, that 
the ''woes" with which Dr. Capers's address had closed had 
been ringing in his ears ever since, and that he heard them 
day and night, asleep or awake. At the invitation of Dr. 
Capers, the mighty crowd, as one man, dropped on the 
ground, and the voice of weeping and intercession smote the 
heavens. It was supposed that not less than a thousand 
persons were convicted of sin as the result of the meeting ; 
and a revival of religion ensued which seemed to sweep 
every thing before it. 

One of the most masterly and powerful appeals I ever 
heard from human lips, in defence of the position that per- 
sonal Christianity must have in it a direct. Divine j^ower, 
was a camp-meeting sermon preached by him, on the text, 
'' Go and show John again what things ye do hear and see : 
the blind receive their sight," etc. He brought the tenth 
legion into the field that day. 

Another sermon scarcely inferior, I heard him preach in 
1829, on the text, "And now, little children, abide in him, 
that when he shall appear we may have confidence, and not 
be ashamed before him at his coming." In a vigorous style 
of argument, he examined the leading types of defective re- 
ligionism — pointed out the grounds of their insufficiency — 
swept them away, and presented in clear light the true source 
of divine life in the soul of the believer, and its sufficiency 



WILLIAM CAPEES. 



83 



for all possible exigencies. He portrayed in words of fire 
tlie grandeur of Clirist's second appearing, before one glance 
of wbicli all tbat is loftiest in buman tbings pales and be- 
comes insignificant. Amidst tbe splendors and terrors of tbe 
scene, tbe strengtb of tbat principle of "confidence," tbe 
result of abiding in Cbrist, was sbown : bow it rose superior 
to tbe world's pbilosopbj and painted pomps, and, in a vital- 
ity indestructible and triumpbant, asserted its power to sus- 
tain tbe soul, since it recognized a brother on tbe tbrone of 
judgment — one wbo, baving redeemed us, bad carried our 
nature and fortunes witb bim as be traversed tbe adoring 
beavens, and will bring tbe same nature, encompassed by 
jubilant millions, to tbe judgment of tbe great day. 

If, bowever, be sometimes rose above bimself, under cir- 
cumstances of peculiar excitement, be occasionally fell below 
bis accustomed level. Wbo, indeed, does not ? I incline to 
suppose tbat preacbers remarkably gifted witb a fiuent de- 
livery are somewbat liable to tbe temptation of trusting too 
mucb to tbe inspiration of tbe moment in preacbing, witbout 
a due foregoing preparation. For many bearers a fine fiow 
of words, gracefully uttered, will serve to cover up consider- 
able poverty of tbougbt; and tbe veriest commonplaces of 
tbe pulpit may be passed ofi" for good preacbing, provided 
tbey are dressed up in tbe drapery of a clever style. I bave 
beard sermons wbicb seemed to take very well witb tbe 
crowd, tbougb tbey explained notbing, proved and enforced 
notbing, contained, in fact, no living idea — not a suggestion 
tbat struck or stuck. A pleasant voice, a fine manner, and 
words, words, words — tbis comprebended tbe sum total. 
IN'ow, tbere are words tbat are balf-battles, as Eicbter said of 
Lutber's. Tbere are words of fire, words wbicb cut witb an 
edge of steel, words wbicb rive like tbe ligbtning. Sucb 



84 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



words, however, are instinct witli tliouglit, or tremulous with 
passion : tliey are born of tlie inner essence of tlie soul when 
'^'deep calleth unto deep." They might challenge for them- 
selves the lofty apostrophe of the Hebrew prophet, "Hear, 
0 heavens ! and give ear, 0 earth !" 

Some of Dr. Capers's sermons, as I have obseiwed, were 
made up of this latter kind of words. They fell with an 
effect upon the soul which time cannot obliterate. Candor 
compels me to add that occasionally a sermon of his would 
betray confusion of ideas, or poverty of thought, the indi- 
cations of inadequate mental preparation. Generally, he 
thought rapidly and clearly. It has been said of him that 
you might give him a text at the dinner-table, and he would 
be ready to preach on it by the time he had walked to the 
church. 

Returning one night with him from a crowded congrega- 
tion where he had preached, seemingly with his usual ease, 
he asked me if I had perceived a break in the thread of his 
discourse. He then added that the subject had not received 
sufficient previous reflection, and that in the middle of the 
sermon he came suddenly to the edge of an abyss of dark- 
ness throuD;h which not a rav of lio'ht 2:limmered. To have 
paused to gather up the missing links of thought, would 
have been to break down utterly. His expedient was to 
strike off at a tangent. This he did so easily and readily, 
that I doubt if half a dozen of his audience detected the 
mental hiatus, or were aware of any interruption in the flow 
of consecutive ideas. 

Sometimes he was betrayed into a too minute attention to 
matters connected but remotely with the main topic, and 
sacrificed breadth and power of striking impression to deli- 
cacy and excessive fertility of illustration. 



WILLIAM CAPERS. 



85 



A felicitous description of the preacliing of Dr. Bunting 
would, I think, apply to Dr. Capers, at his ordinary mean 
between the extremes just indicated : " His pulpit addresses 
are luminous, but without glare : it is a kind of sober, chas- 
tised, cathedral light, in its general effect, with the addition 
of a powerful stream reflected on different portions of the 
subject, as if several concentrated rays had found their way 
through a solitary square of unstained glass, and passed be- 
tween some of the principal pillars in the interior of St. 
Paul's or Westminster Abbey." 

Dr. Capers never needed urging to preach: he seemed 
always willing and ready, l^o apprehension appeared to 
trouble him that he might exhaust his resources, or that a 
great reputation for pulpit eloquence needed caution and 
care in its public manifestations. 

He had trained himself from his youth to a felicitous man- 
agement of his voice, so as to avoid the extremes of tones 
too high or too low. It was consequently seldom strained or 
injured by his pulpit efforts, however often repeated. His 
maimer in the pulpit was uniformly characterized by a high 
and delicate sense of propriety. He was easy and graceful, 
but always solemn. Every movement indicated a deep sin- 
cerity, the antithesis of all mere rhetorical art, the natural 
expression of a master-mind intent upon its theme, warmed 
with genuine animation, and yet chastened by habitual so- 
briety of thought. His fine face lent its varied expression to 
the character of the subject; and that expression was con- 
centrated in the ''electric flashing of the eyes." 'No manu- 
script ever interfered with the power of these eyes. They 
sent their radiant, searching glances over the upturned faces 
of the congregation, and caught the first sign of "answering 
fire" given forth in any direction. This subtile sympathy 



86 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



between speaker and hearer is, after all, tlie grand secret of 
eloqnence. I agree with Milburn in laying stress on this 
power of tlie eye. He says: "The speaker pursues the line 
of bis thought : a sentence is dropped which falls like a 
kindling spark into the breast of some one present. The 
light of that spark shoots up to his eyes, and sends an answer 
to the speaker. The telegraphic signal is felt, and the 
speaker is instantly tenfold the stronger : he believes what 
he is saying more deeply than before, when a second sentence 
creates a response in another part of the house. As he pro- 
ceeds, the listless are arrested, the lethargic are startled into 
attention, tokens of sympathy and emotion flash out upon 
him from every portion of the au.dience. That audience has 
lent to him its strength. It is the same double action which 
characterizes every movement of the universe — action and 
reaction; the speaker giving the best that is in him to his 
hearers, they lending the clivinest portion of themselves to 
him. This tidal movement of sympathy, this magnetic ac- 
tion, awakening and answering in the eyes of speaker and 
hearer, by which he is filled with their life, and they per- 
vaded by his thought, is to me the secret and the condition 
of real eloquence." 

I have embodied in the foregoing sketch my impressions 
and recollections of Bishop Capers as a preacher. I honor 
his memory for the undeviating constancy of his devotion to 
the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Church. That con- 
stancy was tried by much exposure, hardship, peril, self-sac- 
rifice, as well as by some tempting lures. When he was 
stationed in Savannah, in 1819, a terrific visitation of yellow 
fever desolated the city. The idea of deserting his post 
never entered his mind. Day and night he was in the thick 
of the pestilence. His noble disinterestedness and fearless 



WILLIAM CAPERS. 



87 



bravery, in ministering to tlie sick and dying, together witli 
his rare gifts of eloquence, led to an offer on the part of the 
wealthiest congregation then in Georgia, of the pastorship 
of their church, made vacant by the lamented death of Dr. 
KoUock. The salary was one of the largest at that time paid 
to any minister in the United States. The position was hon- 
orable and influential. 'No surrender of doctrinal peculiari- 
ties was asked. He might readily have exchanged the hard 
and poorly-paid service of a Methodist travelling preacher 
for ease, affluence, and high respectability. But it cost him 
no second thought to decline the offer. 

Several times his life was in imminent peril in his many 
journeyings. He once drove over a high bridge, which he 
did not know at the time to be unsafe. He had his family 
with him in the carriage. The moment the carriage was 
over, the bridge fell with a loud crash ; but he was safe. At 
another time, in crossing one of the low -country river 
swamps, in time of a freshet, he madd an almost miraculous 
escape from drowning, with his whole family. On one of 
the Alabama river steamboats, he was within a hair's-breadth 
of destruction, but escaped unhurt. Once or twice his life 
was despaired of, in severe visitations of fever, contracted in 
the discharge of his clerical duties. He spent a handsome 
patrimony in the service of the Church, and was often re- 
duced to straits and shifts to get on. At the time of his 
death he was entirely dependent on his salary for the support 
of his family. But, nevertheless, God was gracious to him 
all the while : he succeeded in educating his children ; saw 
most of them happily married, and usefully engaged in the 
honorable employments of life; and left to them what is 
better than houses or lands — the legacy of an untarnished 
name, of an example bright in all paternal excellence, illus- 



88 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



trious in life-long consecration to the highest good of his 
fellows. 

Dr. Capers possessed the confidence and affectionate esteem 
of his brethren in a high degree. He was a member of every 
General Conference from 1820 to the time of his election to 
the Episcopal office. At the General Conference of 1828, he 
was appointed a representative of the American Methodist 
Church to the British "Wesleyan Conference. In the eccle- 
siastical assembly he was a ready, skilful debater. He al- 
ways took a prominent part in all the important business 
transacted. Dr. Clin said of him that there was no end to 
the work that was in him. 

He was the pioneer in the first missionary enterprise under- 
taken by the South Carolina Conference, that, namely, to the 
Creek Indians, then occupying the western border of Georgia. 
His name is identified with the formation of the important 
missions to the blacks in the low country of the Carolinas 
and Georgia. For several years he held the post of Mission- 
ary Secretary for the Southern department of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and travelled extensively, devoting his 
whole time to that important field of service. 

From this he was transferred, at the first session of the 
Southern General Conference, to the Episcopal office. This 
office he filled with dignity and usefulness for nine years. 
From exposure to bad weather on one of his early tours of 
Episcopal visitation, his health became infirm, and he was 
not at all times fully equal to the severe burdens imposed on 
the incumbents of this office. But he was characterized to 
the last by his usual habits of punctuality and promptness. 
I had the great happiness to travel with him part of the last 
journey he ever made. His health seemed improved; his 
spirits were good ; his conversation possessed its usual viva- 



WILLIAM CAPBKS. 89 

city and range ; Ms eye was briglit ; and I little tliouglit, in 
parting with him, that I had seen the last of him on earth. 
A week or two afterwards, he was with Grod. He had fought 
the good fight, finished his course, kept the faith, and en- 
tered into the joy of his Lord. 

Thus we have traced the character and public services of 
a man identified with the growth of the Southern Methodist 
Episcopal Church for nearly half a century. He formed a 
connecting link between the first and the present race of 
Methodist ministers. He began in the heroic age of the 
itinerant service, and bore his full share in the hardships, 
toils, and privations of the primitive times — times which 
tried men's souls and bodies also. He carried into this ser 
vice the earnestness, simplicity, talent, and activity of a large 
soul, which was devoted without reserve to Christ. He 

broke with the world," to use his own emphatic phrase, at 
the day of his conversion to God. He turned his back upon 
the honors and emoluments, the ease and pleasures of the 
world, when all these lay in full prospect before him ; and 
never counted that he had made a sacrifice — never cast one 
lingering look of regret upon the abandoned aspirations of 
his youth. He has left upon the Annual Conference of 
which for so many years he was a ^'bright, particular star," 
the impress of his large views, of his thorough devotion to 
the itinerant ministry, of his catholic, unremitting zeal, of 
his aptitude for work, of his missionary spirit. In all these 
particulars, preeminently in the last, that body of Christian 
ministers is inferior to none on this continent. " Great men," 
says Dr. Arnold, can only act permanently by forming 
great nations." It is a noble distinction, worthy of the 
highest aspiration of the soul, to be able to impress upon 
large bodies of leading mdnds, whether in the State or in the 



90 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Churcli, tlie principles, sentiments, activities, which carry ou 
the progress of society in virtue and wisdom, and thus do 
God's work in the world. It is this posthumous life of in- 
fluence, spreading out into far-reaching and remote results, 
long after one's brief time on the earth is past, which, after 
all, is the true measure of human greatness. How paltry in 
comparison are the glittering prizes in pursuit of which most 
men waste life's energies and dwarf its powers ! 

Of the rank, honors, emoluments of Methodist Bishops, 
we can predicate little or nothing. 'No gorgeous rites, no 
imposing array of ecclesiastical pomp and circumstance, no 
splendid vestments, no pealing Te Deum Laudamus swelling 
through the long-drawn aisles of some noble cathedral, 
mark the investiture of the Episcopal office. They are no 
peers of the realm afterwards ; no palace opens its portals to 
them ; no rich preferments are in their gift. They claim not 
even the pretension of a de jure Divino Episcopacy, with a 
celestial patent, wrapped up, as Coleridge somewhere ex- 
presses it, in the womb of this or that text of Scripture, to 
be exforcipated by the logico-obstetric skill of high-church 
doctors." They trace the origin of their Episcopal office to 
the founder of the Methodist societies, who, so far as ex- 
ternal platform and polity were concerned, had the right, 
from his relation to these societies, to form them, when their 
growth demanded it, and the political ties of the American 
colonies to the mother-country were severed, into a Church 
organization by ordaining Bishops for them. Strong and 
clear in their de jure humano claim, they troubled themselves 
no more about apostolico-succession theories or figments of 
transmitted sacerdotal grace, than did the patriots of the 
American Eevolution about the Divine right of kings. They 
were Protestants. They held that it is the Holy Ghost who 



WILLIAM CAPERS. 91 

gives to tlie Cliurcli overseers — Bishops : tliat lie alone holds 
the prerogative of calling ministers to the holy office, as he 
alone quickens the souls of men : that he gives the inward 
endowment by which, only, true ministers are made, the exist- 
ing body of ministers conferring nothing beyond the outward 
commission. This was their ground, irrefragable as the !N"ew 
Testament, solid as common sense. 

This Methodist Episcopacy entailed long journeys, pro- 
tracted absences from home, arduous labors, and responsibili- 
ties no less arduous. Some of the Bishops, in the heroic 
age, rode round the ITorth American Continent repeatedly 
on horseback — the saddle sometimes their pillow, and the 
midnight sky and the silent stars their canopy. The sum- 
mer's sun and the winter's cold, the dreary forest, the swollen 
river, the rugged mountain, and the savage and wily Indian ; 
hunger, thirst, weariness — these were no impediments in 
their way. They braved all these in their truly apostolic 
work of carrying the evangel of Jesus Christ over these 
lands, and in the van of an early civilization. But what 
then? These holy, self-sacrificing men, worthy successors 
of the apostles, were the chief ministers of a Christian com- 
munity then in its infancy, but whose churches are now 
planted from the Canadas to the Mexican Gulf, from the At- 
lantic slope through the gates of the Eocky Mountains to 
the shores of the Western Ocean. They wore no mitres, 
kept no state, despised the mere badges and trappings of 
ecclesiastical dignities, and received no pay from the State, 
no remittances from any English propaganda. But they 
wielded the grand and mighty powers of an influence sancti- 
fied by Grod's grace to the largest good of their fellow-men ; 
of a courage and patience, of a wisdom and love which 
swelled fresh and glorious in holy exertion, and are worthy 



92 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



of the briglitest page in their country's history ; of a daunt- 
less enterprise and varied adventure in directing the move- 
ments and preserving the unity of a young and vigorous 
organization destined to strike its roots deep throughout the 
nation; and which in time was to build its colleges and 
universities, erect its printing-houses and presses, collect its 
missionary revenue by hundreds of thousands of dollars, 
year by year, send out its missionary preachers to the an- 
tipodes, and make its influence felt over the earth, and to 
the end of time — 

"Its flag on every height unfurled, 
Its morning drum beat round the "world !" 

I call that man great who worthily bore his part in a 
scheme of operations vast as this. I honor the names of 
Francis Asbury, "William McKendree, Joshua Soule. Pos- 
terity will hold them in ever-increasing veneration. Among 
these "bright, immortal names" will stand that of Villiam 
Capeks. 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



93 



HE¥RY B. BASCOM. 

BY WILLIAM M. WIGHTMAN, D. T> . 

GrRBAT men are rare. They die, as do common men, hav- 
ing served the State during their lifetime, or adorned the 
Church by the lustre of their genius and the mighty influ- 
ence of their character and labors. But though they thus 
pass away, they ought not to be forgotten. Theirs are the 

" deeds which should not pass away, 

And names that must not wither, though the earth 
Forgets her empires." 

History — biography delights to treasure up the memorials 
of their virtues and talents ; and thus their posthumous in- 
fluence reaches through all time. The more minute, indivi- 
dualized, and lifelike we can make the portraits of such 
men, the better will after-comers in distant generations be 
able to coTiceive of their characters, and to feel the ennobling 
influence of their worth. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church possesses the materials 
for a rich portrait-gallery of this kind ; though it must be 
confessed that not a few of her worthiest sons, who would 
have been a delightful study for the moral portrait-painter, 
survive only in lingering and fading traditions. Many of 



94 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 

these men were giants in tlieir day. They laid the founda- 
tions of the largest Protestant Church in the United States. 
They were gifted with an ample variety of endowments, and 
exhibited strong and distinguishing peculiarities of character; 
and their ''times" were rich in incident. How full of touch- 
ing interest would be even a sketch of such persons ! — a 
sketch that would bring out the 7nan, fresh, clear, distinct, 
with the warm life-blood walking its rounds, and the mental 
peculiarities sharply defined. But, like the brave men who 
lived before Agamemnon, referred to by Horace, 

" Longa premuntur 
Node, carent qtiia vate sacro." 

The humblest contribution of this kind cannot fail to be 
acceptable. And while the present writer does not allow 
himself the expectation of doing full justice to the fair fame 
of one of his illustrious contemporaries, with whose friend- 
ship while living he was honored, and whose death was by 
none more lamented, still, as a tribute to the memory of his 
friend, and an expression of the gratitude felt by him, in 
common with the whole Southern Methodist Church, for the 
distinguished services rendered by Bishop Bascom, he em- 
bodies in the following pages his impressions of the preacher 
and the man. 

Henry B. Bascom was born May 2T, 1796, in the State of 
"New York. In 1811, he was converted to God ; and in 1812^ 
he was admitted on trial as a travelling preacher in the Ohio 
Conference. He died in the autumn of 1850, in Louisville, 
Ky., at the house of his friend, the Kev. Dr. Stevenson. 
Between these two points of time intervened a public life 
crowded with cares, labors, responsibilities, honors and dig- 
nities, such as have fallen to the lot of few men. 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



95 



The story of Ms yontliful struggles, beset witli poverty, 
misunderstood by friends, grappling manfully with, difficul- 
ties in the process of self-education, riding hard circuits on 
the outposts of civilization, his pay a dollar a month for four 
hundred sermons and three thousand miles travelled on 
horseback, during one of these early years, and yet indomi- 
tably girding on the armor by which the battle of life and 
the highest distinctions of usefulness and greatness were to 
be won — all this surpasses a romance in thrilling interest. 
E"ext in intensity to his religiou.s affections is his filial piety, 
a trait most remarkably developed in his character, reaching 
even to the moral sublime. Let the young preachers of the 
present time study the pages of his biography, and learn how 
Providence trains in hardships and sufferings those for whom 
a preeminent lot in after-life is destined. Little did that 
poor lad, among all the young dreams which flitted across 
his soul in the hour of revery in the primeval solitudes of 
the great West, imagine that he was to become one of the 
ablest counsellors and most eminent leaders of the Church; 
to preach the glorious gospel of the blessed God before 
Senates, as well as to masses of his countrymen counted by 
thousands ; to be invested with the highest ecclesiastical dig- 
nities, win a name mentioned with respect from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, and die lamented by a whole Church ! 

Let us look at him as a preacher, in the maturity of his 
great powers. There is no doubting the fact that he pos- 
sessed the rarest aptitude for impressing a popular assembly ; 
that his preaching made the pulpit a secret place of thunder, 
vindicated its ancient claim to a station among the most 
powerful institutions which exalt and ennoble a people, and 
covered it with trophies resplendent as virtue, venerable as 
goodness, and precious as the hopes of immortality. In 



96 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

wliat did Ms great strength lie ? "Wliat were the peculiarities 
of liis pulpit eloquence ? "Were tliere any defects amongst 
its excellences ? He has left a volume of sermons which has 
had a wider circulation perhaps than any similar volume 
published in this country. Are these pulpit orations perfect 
in their kind, or are they open to criticism as to structure 
and style ? 

To begin with this last question, it must be premised that 
there are important differences between the extemporaneous 
address intended for the ear of a popular assembly, and the 
written composition which addresses the mind through the 
medium of the eye. In the latter case, condensation, sim- 
plicity, abstinence from ornament, or at least a judicious re- 
serve in the use of it, attest the perfection of art in composi- 
tion. On the other hand, the address which comes from the 
living voice, the progeny it may be of deep previous reflec- 
tion, but thrown off at the moment in the clothing of extem- 
poraneous utterance, and meant not so much to gratify the 
scholarly tastes of the man of letters as to move and per- 
suade the multitude, this allows at one time a colloquial 
freedom, at another an imperial sweep of imagination — a 
language free from the trammels of exact composition, and 
an abandon in keeping with the swell and flow of emotion on 
the part of the audience. The elegant accuracy, the well- 
poised antithesis, the polished diction which shows the labor 
of file and lamp, are all well enough in the literary essay. 
The oratory of the pulpit in its highest moods, and in pur- 
suance of its grand end, the arrest, persuasion, and conver- 
sion of men, rushes forward under the pressure of mighty 
thoughts and glowing passion ; makes its energy felt in ac- 
cumulated illustrations which depict rather than discuss ; and 
at the full thunder strikes home to the heart. Even in foren- 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 97 

sic eloquence this distinction liolds good. Did tlie speech 
read well when reported?" asked Charles James Fox, one of 
the greatest orators who ever spoke in the British Senate ; 
"if so, it was a bad one." 

Besides, the mere reader misses the world of influence 
originating in the oratory of manner. One reads a sermon 
of Summerfield's coolly enough ; but could he have heard it 
unmoved ? when the very tones of the voice were like the 
murmuring breezes blown from "the spice-islands of youth 
and love." Dean Kirwan, an Iiish clergyman, is said to have 
been one of the greatest orators that ever filled a pulpit. 
The celebrated Grattan once remarked of him, that "he 
came to interrupt the repose of the pulpit, and shake one 
woi*ld with the thunders of another : the preacher's desk be- 
came a throne of light — around him a train not such as 
crouch and stagger at the levee of viceroys, but that where- 
with a great genius peoples his own state — charity in ecstasy 
and vice in humiliation." And yet, when his friends after 
his death published a volume of his sermons, they were 
scarcely readable ! 

Dr. Bascom seems to have been well aware of the distinc- 
tion here referred to. He states in the preface that the ser- 
mons are published as they were originally preached ; that 
they were never intended to be judged by the ordinary tests 
of composition and authorship ; and that the icriter is essen- 
tially merged in the preacher. In the preparation of them, 
he adds, the main object was to give form and voice to the 
thoughts and impressions, the convictions and feelings, of 
the preacher, in a way best adapted to arrest and impress the 
hearer. 

Without intending to subject these sermons to an ordeal 
deprecated by the author, it may not be out of place to ad- 
7 



98 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



vert to one or two particulars in wliicb. they seem defective, 
and in reference to wMcIl a caution may be, with, advantage, 
suggested to young preachers who seek the best models. 

1. The great merit of all discourse is method. The philo- 
sophical idea of method combines progression with unity. 
Unity implies that there is one main leading subject taken 
in hand, to be explained and enforced : progression or dis- 
position is the development of this subject — the presentation 
of its relations or qualities, one thought generating another, 
and by vital affinities, either of logic, illustration, or passion, 
justifying the place where it is put. There may be move- 
ment without progression, as in a ship beating on and off 
without being able to keep her true course. There may be 
accumulation of ideas without organic unity, as in the case 
of marbles touching each other in a bag, or beads strung 
together on the same thread; or as a rabble stands distin- 
guished from an army. Growth and evolution, not mere 
aggregation, represent the combination of unity and pro- 
gression. Thus, without any forced transitions, the natural 
sequence of the discourse goes forward, and the requirements 
of just proportion in the parts are observed. 

Vinet illustrates the importance of method in a fine re- 
mark or two, which I am tempted to repeat. He is speaking 
of a preacher who has neglected the great law of order. 
"Conceive," he says, "yourself in the situation I suppose. 
You proceed at hazard, and as groping in the dark, by turns 
advancing and receding; the thread you have hold of is 
broken at every instant, and requires incessantly to be re- 
tied. Instead of completing the presentation of an idea at 
the first, after having presented it imperfectly once, you pre- 
sent it a second time still imperfectly; you have many 
almosts, many fractions of which the sum remains to be 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



99 



taken. You liave skirmislied on all sides of the place, one 
after another ; made false attacks wMcli terminate nothing. 
One idea does not presuppose another; in what you have, 
3-0U have no guaranty as to what is to come, the passages 
(hadly named, surely !) follow one another, hut are not con- 
nected ; as idlers who live hy the day, you write by the sen- 
tence, not more sure of the second after the first, than they 
as to provision for to-morrow." 

'Now, to some extent, it seems to me. Dr. Bascom's ser- 
mons are defective as to method. I incline to attribute this 
to his using too many subdivisions. A carefal examination 
will show that these subdivisions only serve to break the 
continuity of thought, and interfere with the grand totality 
of impression sought to be made. They have the effect of 
rays passing from the surface of a plane mirror in parallel 
lines, whereas the mirror ought to be concave, bringing, in 
converging lines and concentrated power, the force of each 
leading division of the subject into one intense focus. Con- 
sidering the logical power of Bascom's mind, and his capa- 
bility for severe argument exemplified in documents which 
will be a study for future historians of the Church, it might 
have been expected that his sermons would partake very 
much of such a type. One might have looked for great 
masses of thought, bound together by few but vital affinities, 
and swung by a giant force. His method is otherwise, how- 
ever. For this we may account by the circumstances of his 
self-education, his want of early, liberal, and complete scho- 
lastic training : in fine, by the fact upon which he lays con- 
siderable stress himself, that the nucleus forms of these 
sermons were produced many years before he reached the 
full strength of his intellectual powers ; and were expanded 
and added to, as they were preached, again and again. Such 



100 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



a process could not fail to result in a somewliat defective 
imity. A sermon, -sve take it, to reacli tlie maximum force 
of impressiveness, ouglit to be cast in a single mould, from 
tlie mind's furnace glowing with the excitement and inspira- 
tion of a great subject, meditated upon in its relations and 
bearings, until the " tliouglit - agglomerating flood" rushes 
out into the form and body in which it is to be permanent. 
The blent powers of reason and passion, with 

"Imagination all compact," 

assume, of their own accord, the disposition — method — so 
Titally necessary to a full impression. 

2. After making due allowance for the difference between 
written and extemporaneous discourse, it seems to me that 
in point of style Dr. Bascom's sermons exhibit an exuberance 
of ornament. In an artistic point of view, this is certainly a 
defect. Style, like fine painting, ought to have a back- 
ground — shade as well as light — dark ^s well as bright colors. 
In the fine arts, this is called relief. Every one sees how 
necessary to the perfection of a picture is the observance of 
the principles of perspective. 'Not less needful is the study 
and art of relief in moral painting. To give effect to the 
fine passages, there must be a background. "Without affirm- 
ing that a sermon ought in any part to affect a conversational 
undress, it is nevertheless obvious that some portions of it 
must be intended for greater effect than others : some pas- 
sages must be more striking, others less. To rise to the 
pitch of the sublime too soon or too frequently, is to undo 
the effect by overdoing. Language may become dangerously 
powerful. Dr. Olin had the opportunity of hearing Bas- 
com only a single time ; and his remark to me a few hours 
afterward was, that while he admired the wonderful opulence 



HENRY B. BASCOM, 101 

of Dr. Bascom's resources, lie thouglit that tlie effect would 
have been far greater if the sermon had contained a third 
less of accumulated thought and brilliant imagery. He con- 
sidered that the mind of the listener was likely to be over- 
whelmed by the excess of the profound and vivid, in such 
pulpit manifestations, to the detriment of the main ultimate 
impression sought to be made. 

3. The reader of these sermons will be struck with the 
liberty taken to coin new words. They were doubtless used, 
if not formed by this master of pulpit eloquence, in his 
youth, on the mistaken supposition that they were stronger 
or more picturesque than words found in that great "well 
of English undefiled," King James's Bible. These corrup- 
tions of the English idiom remind one of Julius Cgesar's 
golden rule, given to the Roman orators : " Ut tanquam 
scopulum sic fugias insolens verbum." It was a saying of Mr. 
Fox: Give me an elegant Latin and a homely Saxon word, 
and I will always choose the latter." It is certain he never 
used any of the hybrid terms which are becoming too com- 
mon, neither fish nor flesh, Latin nor Saxon, but for the most 
part the spawn of Yankee provincialism. 

The foregoing criticism, if it answers no other purpose, 
will show at least that the respect and admiration felt by the 
writer for the mental manifestations of Dr. Bascom is not a 
partiality blind to all just discriminations. The reputation 
of this distinguished man rests upon a basis sufficiently 
broad to allow whatever of abatement a candid judgment 
may deem necessary on grounds just specified. There are 
defects in the heel of the Farnesian Jove. A fair apprecia- 
tion of his eminent qualities must place him in the front 
rank of great preachers. For the masses of his countrymen, 
who heard him in nearly every part of the United States, he 



102 



EIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



stood forth as tlie most popular and powerful of American 
pulpit orators. 

Marvellous tilings are told of Ms preaching, in tlie flush 
of its manly prime : how, on one occasion, a whole congre- 
gation rose up, apparently unconscious, and pressed toward 
the pulpit, absorbed in strong emotion : how, on another, a 
camp -meeting sermon, at eleven o'clock A. M., produced 
such effects that there could be no more preaching until the 
next day : how he assaulted and stormed the strongholds of 
infidelity ; and by the power of Divine truth brought multi- 
tudes of sinners to repentance. I witnessed myself a re- 
markable scene in the Tabernacle at ^ew York, in 1844. 
He preached at night ; and long before sunset, crowds were 
pouring into the immense church, which, by the time it was 
dark, was filled by as compact a mass of human beings as 
was ever crowded within its walls. After singing, and an 
introductory prayer by Dr. Durbin, Dr. Bascom delivered a 
sermon which produced at three several times the unpre- 
cedented effect of loud and apparently irrepressible applause ! 
It was the strongest case I ever witnessed of a congregation 
fairly hreaking down before a preacher. 

A year or two afterwards. Dr. Bascom mentioned to me in 
familiar conversation a reminiscence connected with his 
preaching in Baltimore. A venerable Methodist lady, of 
great piety and intelligence, said to him on one occasion : 
"Brother Bascom, I have heard Avith pleasure many of your 
sermons; but how does it happen that nobody 'shouts' 
when you preach?" "Madam," said he, "I never aimed at 
such a result ; but I cannot tell what might happen with a 
suitable subject." The conversation led him to prepare a 
sermon on the text: "Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipo- 
tent reignethi" The old lady was present at its delivery. 



HENEY B. BASCOM. 



103 



Before tlie service closed, tlie congregation was wrought up 
to a pitch, of excitement so intense, that whenever the preacher 
repeated the first word of his text, a thousand voices cried 
out simultaneously, "Hallelujah!" and "Hallelujah" rang, 
and rolled, and pealed, at the close, like the voice of many 
waters. The text had given the key-note of the orthodox, 
old Methodist shout, and the walls of the church shook with 
the Hallelujah- chorus. His venerable friend was more than 
satisfied that Dr. Bascom's preaching could raise a shout. 

In Kentucky, they tell of the efiect produced on Henry 
Clay by the second sermon preached by Dr. Bascom at Lex- 
ington. The first had been a failure. Mr. Clay, whose guest 
Bascom was, had engaged him in conversation up to the time 
of preaching, and he was not in tune. At his next visit, he 
took care to leave Mr. Clay's house soon after breakfast, and 
retire to the adjoining woods, for prayer and meditation. A 
large congregation had assembled at the Court-House, and 
Mr. Clay's "greatest natural orator of the American pulpit" 
stood before them to preach on righteousness, temperance, 
and a judgment to come. The full inspiration was upon him 
now. His daring sweep of thought; his glowing illustra- 
tions ; his impetuous and electric declamation ; his searching 
appeals to the conscience, held his audience spell -bound. 
Clay was listening for everybody; and at length, carried 
away beyond all sense of the proprieties of time and place, 
he rose up and gave vent to his excitement by crying out : 
"Well done, Bascom ! give it to them — give it to them !" 

In the spring of 1848, I had the pleasure of being present 
at an interview between Mr. Calhoun and Dr. Bascom, in 
"Washington City. I refer to this merely to state my impres- 
sion, from listening to an hour's conversation between these 
eminent men, that Dr. Bascom's mind moved with ease, self- 



104 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



possession, and elegance, in contact with, one of the most 
peerless intellects of the time. 

The Eev. Dr. Dixon, of England, during his visit, the same 
year, to America, makes the following mention of an inter- 
view he had with Bascom : " This one interview was suffi- 
cient to convince me that he possessed a ]DOwerful intellect, 
of masculine form, richly furnished, highly polished, and 
conversant with various learning and knowledge. He had 
been making a long preaching tour in the South, and we 
heard that his ministr}^ had made a deep impression. This 
gentleman is considered a master of eloquence ; and if he 
drew up the State -papers which appear in the dispute be- 
twixt the South and the ISTorth in 1844 — which I believe — his 
pen is as eloquent as his tongue ; his eloquence, however, 
not being that of declamation, but of reason, and clothed in 
the flowing dress of lucid and beautiful diction." 

If I were asked for a description of Bascom's mind, I 
should say in one word that its distinguishing feature was 
magnificence. Its combination of elements, and its amplitude 
of capacity and intellectual wealth, suggest to the fancy the 
picture of some spacious oriental palace, glittering with all 
forms of elegance, filled with diversified treasures, surrounded 
by garden, and grove, and sparkling fountain, the elaborations 
of art, and the "wild loveliness" of nature. He had the 
concej)iual faculty strong and vivid ; not merely as it stood 
related to the material world, forming combinations such as 
poets and painters deal in, but as it grasped the spiritual and 
eternal, and these mainly in connection with the moral con- 
sciousness — that indestructible essence in our nature, beating 
alike in the heart of the masses and of the few who boast 
the advantages of superior culture. 

Imagination, too — the mediating power between pure rea- 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



105 



son and sense, an endowment so necessary to the poet and 
great orator — was liis in a preeminent degree. Fancy is to 
imagination what talent is to genius. The former may be 
considered the descriptive, the latter is the creative power. 
Trained in the peculiar circumstances of Bascom's early life, 
amidst the primeval forests of the West, under the moun- 
tain's shadow, by the side of river and waterfall, from na- 
ture's scenes of beauty and sublimity, the ever-living sources 
of inspiration, the imagination grew in intensity and com- 
pass, and furnished him the noblest representations of grace 
and beauty, of lofty sentiment and daring power. Thus, 
both by native endowment and early circumstances, brought 
into communion with nature in her grandest moods, his 
mind was attracted by genial sympathies to all that is in- 
spiring in the Christian revelation. In these lofty regions 
of thought, his spirit spread an unfettered wing, rising 
higher than the "sphery chime," approaching 

** The living throne, the sapphire blaze, 
Where angels tremble while they gaze." 

The scheme of Eedemption, unfolding the unsearchable 
riches of Christ, the great Propitiation for sin ; the resur- 
rection of the Son of Grod, the Precursor to immortality of 
faithful souls ; the spread and final triumphs of the gospel ; 
the processes of the last judgment — these were the themes 
which filled his mind with moral grandeur, and exalted and 
transported his imagination. From these — the Cross espe- 
cially and by eminence — his pulpit ministrations took their 
coloring. But if the drapery of the imagination was gor- 
geous, beneath the brilliance of the coloring lay a moral and 
intellectual grandeur — the piled masses of the mountain- 
range, so to speak, clothed in the golden and purple robes of 



106 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



morning sunsMne. A severe taste miglit quarrel with, the 
style for the stately tread of its march, and the pomp of its 
music and banners — if there were not discoverable in com- 
pany the sinewy strength and the armed and winged shafts 
that alone win the battle. It is, indeed, true that there are 
heights and depths of glory in the gospel which baffle the 
capabilities of the most felicitous language, even of poetry ; 
and for the illustration of which the whole force of thought 
interpenetrated by imagination is all too poor. In the elo- 
quent language of Donne : "In going about to express them, 
the lips of an angel would be uncircumcised lips, and the 
tongue of an archangel would stammer.^' 

The capability of quick and intense excitement was another 
very marked characteristic of Bascom's mind. In preaching, 
this intensity of feeling fused all his powers into a glowing 
vehemence. He once told me he had never preached, even 
in the coldest days of winter, without the accompaniment of 
profuse perspiration. On one occasion, his excitement before 
preaching was so great, that in attempting to read the first 
hymn, the hymn-book actually dropped out of his trembling 
hands. It was picked up and handed back to him ; but the 
subdued smile of the assembly, occasioned by so unusual an 
incident, drove off the tremor, and made his nerves, as it 
were, strings of steel. Great calmness and self-mastery, 
especially in the earlier portions of a discourse, would seem 
to have been more befitting the possession of strength such 
as his. I have heard Dr. Few — and laudation from that 
quarter is indeed laudari a laudato — describe the great sermon 
preached by Bishop Soule, on the Perfect Law of Liberty, 
before the South Carolina Conference in the winter of 182T. 
That almost unrivalled effort of pulpit eloquence was charac- 
terized, according to Dr. Few, by a calm, deliberate begin- 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



107 



ning — the preaclier apparently quite self-possessed, and hus- 
banding breath, and strength. But presently he warmed with 
his subject, and the serene majesty of the commencement 
rose into a loftier interest with the progress of the argument, 
step by step. Then, fully inspired and anointed, thought, 
voice, manner, assumed a mood of grandeur befitting the 
highest order of mind; and ere the sermon ended, every 
thing was swept before it, as with the rush of a land-slide. 

This would seem to be the highest model of effective pul- 
pit oratory. Dr. Bascom possessed too much of the vis vivida, 
the intense excitability of genius, to keep his mind in quiet 
working order for a time. The steam, so to speak, was at its 
maximum pressure from the first movement of the machinery. 
He fiung himself with full strength into the first sentence of 
his discourse. This mighty earnestness went far to neutralize 
the effect of redundant ornament. You felt at once that no 
man so thoroughly pervaded by vital passion could possibly 
use fine figures and rich imagery merely for show. Thus he 
was put beyond the suspicion of dealing in the mere decla- 
mations of the rhetorician. 

In fine, one must not lose sight of the personiiel in account- 
ing for the celebrity and success of Dr. Bascom' s preaching. 
When he rose in the pulpit, you had before you one of the 
model specimens of perfect, I might say majestic manhood. 
Upon him nature had impressed the visible signatures of 
eminence, the patent of true nobility. His appearance would 
have been distinguished among kings and princes. His 
stature was about six feet: he carried himself perfectly 
erect; and so synsmetrical was his form that it set off his 
dress, no matter of what quality, cut, or style. The disap- 
pointment of his old Methodist friend, who, to get rid of 
Bascom's stylish appearance, rigged him out in an orthodox 



108 



BIOGEAPHICxiL SKETCHES. 



rouncl-breastecl coat, and found that it served to make that 
appearance only tlie more distingue, is grapliically told bj his 
biographer. When the old gentleman wanted to get the 
"dandy" coat off, Bascom said to him, "You have given me 
the coat, and I shall wear it, and especially as you seemedt to 
think that I was too proud to wear a coat cut in the fashion 
of the last century." His hair was black, and rather thin: 
his eye was also black, and beamed keen with sentiment. 
His forehead resembled that of Daniel Webster in lofty ex- 
pansion : it seemed the very throne of intellect. The lips 
were thin, and in connectron with the chin indicated great 
firmness and decision of character. The general cast of his 
countenance approached a calm sternness ; but when unbent 
in familiar conversation, his features became touchingly fine. 
His voice of late years, after the affection of his throat, was 
somewhat husky, but it left sharp and distinct upon the ear 
the rapid words which clothed his ideas. At its best, it must 
have possessed an untold power of impression, and sounded 
with the ring of a "clear, uplifted trumpet." One of his 
hearers spoke of it as " articulate thunder." His gesticula- 
tion was natural, evidently unstudied, and prompted by the 
emotion of the moment. It was none the less telling on that 
account. Obviously, it was his wont to throw himself upon 
the rushing stream of passion, without thinking at all of 
gesture, voice, or manner. 

Turning from what may be called the human side of his 
character — the intellectual endowments, the emotional depth 
of his nature — to the Divine side — the personal faith in 
Christ ; the sanctifying communion witli God by the grace 
of "the Spirit of promise;" the controlling sense of duty, 
and the firm trust in Providence — here we find at last his 
highest distinctions. "It is well said, in every sense," re- 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



109 



marks Carlyle in liis ''Hero-Worship," "that a man's religion 
is tlie chief fact with regard to him," Far above the emi- 
nence of the intellectnalist and the laurelled glory of the 
• great orator, shines the beauty of holiness. Apart from gen- 
uine Christian excellence, all gifts, endowments, successes, 
are, after all, but the '' sounding brass and tinkling cymbal." 
"Now, if we go to the essence of the matter — the main thing 
a man believes and practically lays to heart, concerning his 
duty to God and his destiny in eternity — there can be but 
one opinion in the case before us. Dr. Bascom was genuinely 
converted and made a public profession of his faith in Christ 
when young ; maintained that faith and profession through 
life, under the application of the two severest tests — persecu- 
tion in youth and immense popularity in mature life; and 
died with the full trust of his heart in "Almighty Goodness, 
as revealed in the Cross of Christ." In his youth, he differed 
from some of his clerical brethren in some of the stereotyped 
peculiarities of the dress and manners of the time. They 
were anxious to get rid of him. "Give me that boy," said 
Bishop Asbury, who was never deceived in his judgment of 
the moral worth of a man : " Give me that boy — I tvill be re- 
sponsible for him.'" The closing epoch of his life, his conse- 
cration to the Episcopal office, was the latest endorsement of 
Asbury' s successors. 

What Dr. Bascom' s views were of the indispensable im- 
portance of personal religion, cannot better be shown than 
in his own words : " The tendency of modern times to asso- 
ciation, to merge the individual in the mass, to render even 
piety an impersonal affair, and find in the Church what can- 
• not be found in the persons composing it, to transform the 
Church into a huge organism, with mystic corporate rights, 
claims, and potency, in no way traceable to the personal re- 



110 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ^ 

lations or virtues of its individual members, lias to a great 
extent destroyed its true scriptural character in tliis respect. 
Formerly, men gave character to tlie Cliurcli; now, tlie 
Cliurcli gives cliaracter to men. Time was when the religion 
of the Church was tested by the personal worth of those con- 
stituting its fellowship : now, in the majority of instances, 
the Church is viewed as an impersonal something, an in- 
tangible abstraction, an ideal entity, with right, power, and 
claim, growing out of the fiction of mere conventional unity, 
without reference to the personal faith and obedience required 
by Christianity as essential to the very idea of a Church of 
Christ. This most unscriptural, anti- Christian dogma is, in 
our judgment, working infinite mischief to the real practical 
interests of Christianity. It is calling off attention from the 
only virtues and course of conduct on the part of individual 
man which can possibly authorize his connection with a 
Christian Church, and which, if not predicable of the indivi- 
duals composing a Church, must leave such Church without 
any claim to Christian character whatever." 

To the Church — to the highest interests of what he con- 
ceived to be the cause of Chiist in the world — Dr. Bascom 
devoted his enthusiasm, his energies, and activities. He did 
this without reserve, without pause, and not without strong 
temptations from the highest worldly inducements, in an op- 
posite direction. ''Poor and embarrassed as I am," he wrote 
to a brother minister, who, under the stress of narrow cir- 
cumstances, was looking to the profession of the law, ''I am 
resolved to have no client but Him who at first employed me 
to plead the great cause of human salvation ; and I know 
my fee will be certain and large." What things were gain 
to him, those he counted loss for Christ. Fj^thfuUy, bravely, 
and to the end, he stood by his early convictions as a Method- 



HENRY B. BASCOM. 



Ill 



ist minister. He made no compromises of cliaracter or con- 
sistency; and having been tlie instrument in God's hand of 
conferring upon society untold benefits, by a long and labor- 
ious life, be died leaving to bis children not a dollar ! 

If the foregoing outline of the mental and moral charac- 
teristics of Dr. Bascom approaches to a faithful delineation 
of the man, it will be apparent that he possessed the main 
element which enters into a just conception of greatness — as 
one of the profoundest thinkers of the time, Isaac Taylor, 
has defined it — the ennobling inspiration springing from the 
sensibility of the soul toward beauty and sublimity in the 
natural and in the moral world. In some gifted minds, this 
inspiration tends to a meditative seclusion from the current 
of ordinary affairs. They seem to lack the practical element. 
Thus it has been said of Coleridge, that "he talked like an 
angel, and did nothing at all." In the case of Dr. Bascom, 
however, it may be emphatically remarked that he was a 
man of affairs. It is true that he seldom made speeches, and 
never long ones, in Annual or General Conferences. But his 
interest was always awake, his judgment was always sound 
and to be relied on ; and when an emergency required it, the 
force of his superior intellect was always put under contribu- 
tion. He had the far-seeing views of a statesman, and a 
nerve, energy, and address, in keeping. He was at the far- 
thest possible remove from the mere dreamy sentimentalist 
or the "fussy" man of talk. The versatility of his powers 
and the practical bent of his genius are illustrated by a refer- 
ence to the prominent part he took in the most important 
transition known to American Methodism — the division of 
the Church. It is not saying too much to af&rm that his 
adhesion to the Southern cause was the crisis of a great 
movement which, under the blessing of God, has given peace 



112 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



and tlie promise of an uninterrupted progress in prosperity 
to the Southern Annual Conferences. He had attended the 
meetings of the Southern delegates at which the solemn 
question of separation from the i^orth was anxiously debated. 
With keen eye but closed lip, he had watched the progress 
of the debate. 

" Deep on Lis front engraved, 
' Deliberation sat, and public care." 

When the moment for action was come, he rose and walked 
to the Chairman's seat, and announced that he was prepared 
to peril all upon the righteousness of the movement, and to 
give his full adhesion and support to the Southern cause. 
The effect was electrical. The "Western delegations imme- 
diately came forward, and to a man committed themselves 
fully to the same cause. The battle was won. By acclama- 
tion, Dr. Bascom was requested to draw up a Protest against 
the offensive action of the majority of the General Confer- 
ence. The masterly paper which he produced in a short time 
exhibited his vast power of original and searching analysis, 
and his familiar acquaintance with the principles of constitu- 
tional law. Its chain of argumentation is so cogent and 
luminous, that Dr. Dixon, a representative of the British 
Wesleyan Church, pronounced it " one of the most powerful 
and eloquent State documents ever put into the hands of the 
reader." The part taken by Dr. Bascom in this affair cost 
him the loss of many a ISTorthern friend, and exposed him to 
many assaults on the part of the ISTorthern Methodist press ; 
but it establishes a claim to the gratitude and affection of 
Southern hearts which no lapse of time can weaken. 

Death has quenched the glance of that flashing eye, and 
stilled the throb of that mighty heart, and turned to dust that 
majestic form. He has passed away to take on immortality. 



EGBERT L. KENNON. 



113 



EGBERT L. KEl!^N"Ol!T. 

BY BISHOP ANDREW. 

To preserve a suitable memorial of the great and good is 
not only a pleasant task, but in reference to those who by 
their talents, self-denial, and consecration to the cause of 
God have mightily aided in the permanent establishment 
of the Redeemer's kingdom in any section of the work, it 
seems to partake somewhat of the character of duty. "We 
instinctively turn to the past with feelings of fond venera- 
tion. The names and deeds of those who aided us in our 
religious course, or who with us labored to build up the 
Church of Grod, are consecrated in our heart-memories. We 
love to think of them, to talk of them, and hold up their 
examples to the present generation, as so many beacon-lights 
to guide them through life's stormy seas to the haven of 
peace. Under the influence of these feelings, I have under- 
taken the following brief sketch of one who was extensively 
known and beloved by the early Methodists of Alabama. 

The Rev. Robert L. Kennon was intimately associated 
with the history of Methodism in Alabama in its earlier 
struggles, and his name is still cherished by his surviving 
contemporaries with affectionate respect. 

He was born in Granville county, IsTorth Carolina, in the 
8 



114 BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

year 1789. He was called in early life to mourn tlie loss of 
a godly mother ; but this loss was in a great measure sup- 
plied by tbe kindness of a devoted sister, wbo watcbed over 
Mm with a pious and maternal solicitude, training bim in 
tbe way in wbicb be sbould go. His fatber is spoken of as 
an Israelite indeed; so tbat tbe balf-orpbaned boy bad every 
advantage wbicb early instruction and consistent example 
could afford bim. 

He was converted to God in 1801. At tbat early period in 
bis life, be was found in tbe altar praying for mourners — 
a promising beginning, and one wbicb was not disappointed 
by bis future course. 

"WTien not more tban twelve years old, some friends stopped 
at bis father's to spend tbe nigbt. Tbe old gentleman was 
from bome ; and at tbe close of tbe evening, to tbe astonish- 
ment of tbe visitors, he got tbe books, read a chapter, and 
offered a most appropriate and fervent prayer to Grod for bis 
blessing and protection. 

During bis academic course bis mind was drawn off 
from his religious duties, and he lost to a great extent the 
enjoyment of religion. "What a melancholy thing is this, 
that young men who have been hopefully pious up to the 
time of their entrance upon academic or collegiate life can- 
not cultivate their minds without corrupting their hearts, but 
leave tbe institution hopelessly bankrupt so far as religion 
is concerned ! 0, bow many such wrecks have I seen float- 
ing on the tide of life ! and how many such are met with 
every day ! But, through G-od's abounding goodness, young 
Kennon was soon alarmed, and recovered from bis wander- 
ings. 

In 1807, be was pursuing his academical course in the 
town of Sparta, Ga., where bis father then resided. Here 



EOBEKT L. KENNON. 



115 



lie was associated in Ms studies witli Moses Andrew, and a 
friendsMp sprung up between tliem whicli continued un- 
abated while tbey lived. Of my excellent relative, Dr. An- 
drew, who spent many of tbe last years of liis life in Alabama, 
and died, I believe, in Lowndes county, so far as I know, no- 
thing has yet been published. Would that some one who 
knew him would give us a sketch of his life ! My recollec- 
tion of him is that he was a man of lovely spirit and an ex- 
cellent preacher. 

In 1809, Dr. Kennon was admitted on trial in the South 
Carolina Conference, and stationed on Cypress Circuit ; 1810, 
returned to Cypress ; 1811, Kewee ; 1812, Warrenton. 

In 1811, he was admitted into full connection, and ordained 
Deacon ; in 1813, he was ordained Elder, and located, on ac- 
count of ill-health. 

He then read medicine with Dr. William Lee, of Jasper 
county, Georgia ; and it was at the house of Dr. Lee that I 
had my first interview with him. This was in 1812, some 
months prior to his location, his failing health having com- 
pelled him to leave his circuit before the close of the year. 

He remained with Dr. Lee that year and the next, and then 
went to Columbia, S. C, where he completed his medical 
course, and pursued his literary studies, in some connection 
with th^ South Carolina College. After leaving Columbia, 
he returned to Georgia. 

I was admitted on trial at the Conference at which he 
located ; and as my work for the year following lay in South 
and I^Torth Carolina, I did not meet the Doctor again till 1815, 
when I was on the Warren Circuit. I fou.nd him located, 
and in the practice of medicine at Wrightsborough, Columbia 
county, Ga. 

He was successful and popular as a physician and as a 



116 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



preaclier ; for tliouglL lie did not judge his lungs sufficiently 
strong to justify liini at tliat time in reentering the itine- 
rancy, yet lie preached as a local preacher whenever his pro- 
fessional duties would allow. In the spring of 1815, he lost 
one of his hest friends, his old preceptor. Dr. Lee. This was 
a painful stroke to Dr. Kennon, and opened up the channels 
of deep feeling in a heart full of tenderness and formed for 
friendship. From my recollections of Dr. Lee, and the im- 
pressions made on me by a very brief acquaintance, I should 
judge that he was a man whose loss would be painfully and 
extensively felt in the community, and especially by such a 
man as Robert L. Kennon, sustaining the relations which he 
sustained to Dr. Lee. 

About this time, he was married to Miss Martha Bush, of 
"Warren county, Ga. ; and in 1819, he removed from Georgia 
to Alabama and settled at Tuskaloosa, where his superior 
qualities as a citizen, a Christian, a physician, and minister 
of Jesus, procured him the affection of a large circle of 
friends who loved him to the end. In Tuskaloosa, as else- 
where, he succeeded well, and acquired reputation as a physi- 
cian ; but the practice of medicine was not his legitimate 
field of effort. God had called and qualified him for a holier 
employment. 

Alabama was then a new country. Its genial climate and 
fertile soil were constantly attracting to it thousands of en- 
terprising citizens, who came for the sole purpose of acquiring 
wealth. This was the controlling motive which attracted 
them hither, and consequently they were in great danger 
of forgetting God entirely in their successful scramble for 
worldly gain. The state of society was what may be easily 
imagined uuder such circumstances. Churches were few and 
far between; and many Church -members who left their 



ROBERT L. KENNON. 117 

former homes witli their certificates of membership had no 
early opportunity of presenting them; and when such an 
opportunity was offered, they had grown careless, and pre- 
ferred to remain unconnected with the Church of God. Dr. 
Kennon contemplated the state of society around him. There 
were many great and effectual doors opening in all directions, 
but where were the ministers to cultivate these widely-ex- 
tending and interesting fields ? They were too few to occupy 
successfully the fertile fields around them. The question 
might very appropriately have been asked. By whom shall 
Jacob arise ? for he is small. 

Dr. Kennon heard the call of the Church, and resolved to 
cut himself loose from all worldly employments, and throw 
himself with all his soul into the work of his earlier love. 
He was, indeed, abandoning a lucrative profession, and re- 
spectable position, and very pleasant social relations, and 
throwing himself into the toils and privations of a ministry 
which, whatever might be its advantages on the score of use- 
fulness, certainly presented no inducements of a pecuniary 
character ; for bad as our pecuniary prospects now are, they 
were then incomparably worse. Yet, in full view of the 
earthly comforts he was surrendering, and the struggles and 
difficulties before him, he resolved to lay all upon the altar 
of God, and follow implicitly the convictions of duty. 

He accordingly reentered the travelling Connection in the 
autumn of 1824, and labored the four succeeding years on the 
Black Warrior District. In 1829-30, he was stationed in 
Tuskaloosa; 1831-32, Tuskaloosa District; 1833, Greens- 
borough ; 1834, supernumerary on Choctaw Mission ; 1835- 
36, in the city of Mobile ; 1837, Tuskaloosa, which ended his 
laborious and useful life. 

In presenting our views of Dr. Kennon, we shall consider 



118 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

the distinguisliing traits wMcli marked Ms character as a 
man in tlie various relations to wliicli he was called in the 
providence of God. 

"We have seen that he embraced religion in his boyhood, 
and that his religious course was decided ; for we find him 
in that early period of his religious experience giving proof 
of the reality and earnestness of his love for his Redeemer 
and the souls for whom he died, by laboring zealously to 
bring others to a participation of those pleasures which re- 
ligion alone can impart. Thus early in his Christian course 
did that spirit begin to develop itself which was destined to be 
the controlling element of his life. God even then, no doubt, 
had spoken to the young Samuel, and indicated his will 
concerning him in reference to the future employment of 
his life. 

He did not enter upon his ministerial career till he had 
attained his majority. In this he acted discreetly, as no 
doubt many a young man of ardent temperament assumes 
the sacred office prematurely, while both his mental and 
physical powers are in a state of immaturity ; and the effects 
of a too hasty entrance u]3on his important work are pain- 
fully manifest in the imperfections of his pulpit ministrations 
and his want of adaptation to his ministerial work in general. 

We regret that we have been unable to procure any ma- 
terials in reference to his early religious experience. It 
would have tended greatly to increase the interest of our 
sketch. 

In the year 1809, we behold our friend wending his way to 
his first field of labor. Cypress Circuit, lying between Orange- 
burg and Charleston. Of his youthful itinerant experiences 
we are also ignorant. All that we know is, that for two or 
three years he travelled circuits in South Carolina, and in 



ROBERT L. KENNON. 



119 



1812 was on the Warrenton Circuit in Georgia. Here, as we 
have stated, long before the year closed, his health failed him, 
and he turned his attention to the study of medicine. 

Of Dr. Kennon's character as a preacher, we might have 
much to say. He was a man who read much. His mind was 
diligently cultivated, and his sermons gave ample evidence 
of profound thought. He had a pleasant voice. His heart 
was full of gentleness and kindness. A deep earnestness of 
soul was manifest in all his pulpit efforts, so that all who 
heard him were compelled to feel that he was oppressed with 
a deep concern for the salvation of the souls to whom he was 
God's messenger. 

By the way, is not this want of deep concern on the part 
of the preacher, for the souls of his dying fellow-men, one 
of the great deficiencies of the pulpit in this age? The 
ancient prophets of God were wont to appropriate the title 
of the burden of the word of the Lord to those fearful and 
glorious messages which God charged them to deliver to the 
rebels whom they were sent to warn in his name. The title 
was solemnly appropriate, but not more appropriate then 
than now. Behold the preacher ascend the pulpit on the 
Sabbath. Before him are hundreds of undying spirits, who 
are there to listen to God's message from the lips of his 
servant. Some of them are probably in the house of God 
for the last time. Their destiny for eternity depends on the 
decisions of that day, and the character of those decisions 
turns upon the character of the sermon which they are there 
to hear. Has the preacher entered the pulpit under a deep 
consciousness of the fearful responsibilities which surround 
him at that hour ? Does he look on his congregation in view 
of the fearful future of many to whom he is then by Divine 
appointment delivering the message of God ? Does he throw 



120 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



his whole soul into the effort ? Does he speak as he would 
do if he knew that it were his last sermon on earth ? 0, 
should he not feel with crushing weight that it is the burden 
of the Lord ! But, instead of this, has he entered the pulpit 
without much prayerful thought ? did he rush into it from a 
social evening's frivolous chat, with the words of worldly 
folly still ringing in his ears, and his mind and heart still 
crowded with the unholy images of earthly pleasure or ag- 
grandizement ? or does he stand there between the living 
God and a dying people, and, in the presence of both, aim 
only or mainly to acquire or maintain a poor, sickly, dying, 
worldly reputation ? 

If men enter the ministry under the influence of any in- 
ferior motive, if they regard it as an opening to the attain- 
ment of worldly good or earthly distinction, and look not 
mainly to the salvation of perishing souls around them, who 
without the embracement of gospel truth must perish, and 
that for ever — if their aim be any thing below this glorious 
mark, their ends will be worldly, their studies, their prepara- 
tions for the pulpit, will look mainly to self, and their minis- 
trations will of course be powerless. They may be popular, 
crowds may follow them, their congregations may increase, 
but the souls of their people will perish, and the church 
under their care will become dead. Is there not danger at 
this point ? 

In reference to our excellent friend Dr. Kennon, this deep 
and burning desire for the salvation of the souls of his 
hearers seems to have been a distinguishing trait in the 
character of his ministrations. On this point, I take great 
pleasure in introducing the following extract of a letter from 
the Hon. H. W. Hilliard, who was somewhat intimately as- 
sociated with Dr. Kennon for several years. The letter is in 



ROBERT L. KENNON. 121 

reply to one wliich. I addressed to Mr. Ililliard requesting in- 
formation respecting Dr. Kennon. He says : 

"I first met Dr. Robert L. Kennon about the beginning of 
tbe year 1832. Having been elected to the cbair of English 
Literature in the University of Alabama, I went to reside at 
Tuskaloosa. Dr. Kennon was at that time Presiding Elder, 
I believe, of the Tuskaloosa District. 

" He was then, I suppose, between forty and fifty years of 
age. His person was slender, his height about five feet nine 
or ten inches, yet his appearance was not that of one in deli- 
cate health: he was erect, sinewy, active. His face was 
highly intellectual : the outline of his features was Grecian, 
his forehead and nose ranging in almost a right line : his 
light hair and blue eyes gave him a youthful appearance. 

"His manners were singularly prepossessing — frank, cor- 
dial, earnest. In conversation he was very attractive, ani- 
mated, sometimes playful, nearly always cheerful. Unaffect- 
edly, he generally gave to the conversation in which he took 
part an intellectual turn, and his own remarks displayed an 
uncommon depth and vigor of thought. 

"Dr. Kennon was a preacher of very high order. His 
great quality was earnestness. This with him was intense. 
He had but little action in the pulpit, but yet he was impas- 
sioned. The flame was not roaring, flashy, noisy, but steady, 
brilliant, consuming. His eyes sometimes swam in tears, 
and the tones of his voice revealed the deepest emotion ; and 
yet the current of the argument or appeal rolled on. I very 
well remember to have heard him preach in the old framed 
church in Tuskaloosa, to a very large congregation, a sermon 
of great power. His text was from James v. 20 : ' Let him 
know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of 
his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multi- 



122 BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

tude of sins.' I liave before me his plan of tlie sermon, in 
his own handwriting, and I transcribe it for you : — 

" ' First. Eesponsibility augmented by the gospel ; with- 
out it, man would possess mere physical wants for a short 
time ; with it, man appears in a new light. Religion magni- 
fies the social principle — the sympathies and influences of 
man over man. "What is involved in the conversion of a 
sinner ? 1st, Conviction of the error of his way ; 2d, Peni- 
tence; 3d, Eenunciation of sins; 4th, Eegeneration and 
sanctification. 

" ' Second. How we maybe the instruments of converting, 
etc. : 1st, By example ; 2d, Prudent advice ; 3d, Earnest 
prayer ; 4th, Ministry full of faith and the Holy Ghost — in- 
structed in the gospel — diligent. 

u t Third. The importance of the work. 1st, What it pre- 
vents : it covereth the multitude of sins— it corrects past and 
prevents those which otherwise would be committed ; 2d, It 
saveth a soul — the value of a soul. "What it confers in salva- 
tion — the comforts — -j oy — triumphs. ' 

''The effect produced by the sermon was extraordinary, 
especially when towards its conclusion he represented the 
value of the soul, and described the final scene, when all 
transitory things should be swept away, and nothing be left 
to view but heaven above and hell beneath. Vehement 
shouting broke forth in a part of the congregation, and 
some of the ladies, terrified by the scene, rose and left the 
church. 

" I attended one or two camp-meetings with Dr. Kennon, 
and was impressed with his earnestness — his concern for the 
salvation of souls really approximating the apostolic spirit. 
I regarded him as a genuine successor of the apostles. "Walk- 
ing with him when we sought the shelter of the woods for 



ROBERT L. KENNON. 



123 



our evening prayer, I was moved to see how tlie burden of 
souls rested upon Mm. 

I certainly am not in a position where I may censure any 
one, but I must say that I have rarely witnessed since my 
association with. Dr. Kennon any thing approaching his 
marked and oppressive concern for the salvation of souls. 
If I may be pardoned for saying so, it seems to me that the 
want of our modern ministry is just this. Dr. Kennon' s 
struggles for souls realize the meaning of the word agonizing. 

"As a gentleman, Dr. Kennon was admirable. He kept 
up his relations with society, visited, corresponded, knew 
political men, literary men, men of business, and was uni- 
versally popular. Yet he never, I believe, lowered his stan- 
dard to accommodate others. He was accepted everywhere 
as an earnest, pure-minded, warm-hearted, intelligent. Chris- 
tian gentleman. 

" I have said that his conversation was intelligent ; it was 
also religious. He made me a visit : the conversation turned 
on the future state, and he disclosed to me his view, that the 
redeemed in heaven would enjoy greater glory than the un- 
sinning angels who kept their first estate. The view pre- 
sented by him possessed me — I could not escape from it ; and 
for the first time I caught an idea of the surprising glory of 
that future state when men saved by our Lord Jesus Christ 
shall share his triumphs." 

Thus far my respected friend, Brother Hilliard. I have 
given this long extract, for the simple reason that it embodies 
my own views of Dr. Kennon' s character as a Christian gen- 
tleman and minister of our Lord Jesus Christ. It corre- 
sponds in every essential particular with my own recollec- 
tions of him. 

It is not strange that such a man should have been well 



124 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



received and useful Trherever Ms lot miglit be cast, and such, 
we believe to liave been tlie fact witli the subject of this 
sketch. 

But not only was Dr. Kennon such a preacher as has been 
described, but as a consequence he greatly loved the Church 
of Grod, and was warmly attached to his brethren of the 
Alabama Conference. For the Church in the bounds of this 
then young Conference, his soul was deeply concerned. He 
expressed his feelings on this subject freely to me. 0," said 
he, ''how I feel for the Church in this country ! Alabama is 
destined to be a great and important State, and the whole 
country is open before us. The people are willing to receive 
us, but where are we to get the preachers ? TTe shall neglect 
it till others will occupy the ground on which we might now 
enter." 

On this subject he felt intenseh\ It greatly rejoiced him 
to welcome transfers who came from other Conferences. His 
soul was incapable of those petty jealousies which sometimes 
give to the transfer from a distant Conference a cool recep- 
tion. "WTien he witnessed these things on the part of others, 
it gave him great pain. 

I recollect once while I was attending a Conference held at 
G-reensborough, Alabama, I was preaching, I think, in a 
grove, and the Doctor was sitting behind me. It was a 
peculiar cross for me to preach on that occasion, and I was 
rather embarrassed ; but happening to turn round, I saw the 
Doctor in tears. It encouraged me considerably. But after 
service I ascertained that my sermon had nothing to do with 
his tears. Just before ascending the pulpit, he had heard 
that some brother who had been transferred to Alabama 
had resolved, in consequence of the treatment which he had 
received from some members of the Conference, to leave Ala- 



EOBEET L. KENNON. 



125 



bama fortliwitli. This iinliappj circumstance preyed on his 
mind during the whole service, and he spoke to me on the 
subject afterwards with a good deal of feeling. 

The views which have been presented of Dr. Kennon's 
general traits of character will have prepared the reader for 
the account of his family-government, a very important de- 
partment of a Christian minister's life. It sometimes hap- 
pens that ministers who in public are exceedingly amiable in 
their manners, present a very different aspect to the members 
of the family-circle. Abroad among strangers they are all 
sunshine : the thunder-cloud is reserved for the home-fireside. 
Such was not the case with our friend. The geniality and 
tenderness which were essential ingredients in his character 
were specially developed in his intercourse with the loved 
ones at home. Permit an extract of a letter from his daugh- 
ter, written to me a few weeks since : — "Allow me to express 
the deep, affectionate, and reverential interest with which we 
his children look to this tribute to his memory. Could we 
have disposed of the work, we would have laid it at your 
door, feeling that none so appropriately could do credit to a 
nature so pure and a life so blameless, as you had both 
known so well and labored so long with him. Though but a 
child when he was taken from us, his highly practical nature 
left an indelible impression. 'No word of bitterness toward 
any sect ever escaped his lips : indeed, it was his maxim that 
the enlightened are always liberal. He taught us to love 
nature — to see beauty in the waving grass, the gurgling 
stream, and in every fiower. A devout worshipper in the 
great temple, it was delightful to him to see his children 
moved by the same impulses. Many flowers of which he 
taught me the name at seven years old, and insects whose 
beauties he pointed out, are yet loved and prized on that ac- 



126 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



count. It will ever be the first, great grief of my life, and 
will be a deep and lasting sorrow, tbat before we were prepared 
to understand the wealth of liis mind and nature lie was 
taken from us. We only clierisli many beautiful fragments 
wbicli that terrible shock left us. We never knew him to 
speak harshly in his parental dealings with us ; but so great 
was our love, we did not think of disobedience." 

The foregoing extract speaks for itself It brings up the 
memory of the now sainted father, as he used to appear in 
the family-circle with his little ones around him, listening to 
the gentle words of parental instruction, or leading them out 
some pleasant day amidst the trembling foliage, opening 
flowers, the singing of birds, and the chirping of insects, all 
the workmanship of the almighty and infinitely wise and 
loving Being whose name and power are everywhere. 0, I 
can well imagine how Robert L. Kennon would enjoy an oc- 
casion like this, and how wisely and happily he would im- 
prove such an occasion to lead his little fiock from earthly 
fields and beauties to the God who made them all ! 

Dr. Kennon was remarkably free from selfishness. He 
loved God and could trust him ; therefore he gave freely of 
his substance to the relief of others, and exhibited in all his 
conduct an indifference to the acquisition of property. Per- 
haps he carried this too far ; for while it is true that a Chris- 
tian minister should not mingle in the reckless and eager 
scramble for wealth, it is nevertheless his duty to manage 
vigilantly and prudently the means which God has put into 
his hands, so that if God should call him away his family 
should not be left entirely destitute. 

A striking instance of his confidence in God is related by 
his daughter. The Doctor's health was rather precarious, 
and the prospect of his being able to continue in the effect- 



ROBEET L. 127 

ive ministry was becoming very doubtful. Under these cir- 
cumstances, some of bis influential friends advised bim to 
locate and accept an bonorable and lucrative appointment, 
by Trbicb bis family would be placed in easy circumstances. 
"Witb expressions of becoming gratitude to bis friends, be 
declined tbe offer, avowing bis purpose to continue in tbe 
regular travelling ministry, and tbat be could safely and con- 
fidently trust Grod for tbe temporal comfort of bimself and 
family. 

Tbe Doctor manifested great interest in tbe religious in- 
struction of tbe blacks, and was of course greatly beloved by 
tbem. On one occasion tbis was sbown by tbeir raising 
among tbemselves and presenting to bim a purse of one hun- 
dred dollars. Tbis be gave back to tbem, requesting tbem to 
divide it among tbemselves, assuring tbem tbat be felt as 
grateful to tbem and loved tbem as well as tbougb be bad 
retained it all. 

Having given a very imperfect sketcb of Dr. Kennon, it is 
appropriate tbat we close it witb a view of bis final conflict 
and triumpb. 

At tbe close of 1837, tbe Conference met at Columbus, 
Miss. Dr. Kennon came to tbe city a few days before tbe 
Conference, in unusually good bealtb, preacbed on tbe last 
day of tbe year witb great power, and took a leading part in 
tbe watcb-meeting, wbere bis solemn remarks on tbe short- 
ness and value of time seemed premonitory of bis own 
speedy departure. 

On Monday and Tuesday, be assisted in tbe examination 
of tbe young preachers, a work in which he always took a 
deep interest. Tbe elevation of tbe standard of ministerial 
qualification was an object for which he labored incessantly. 

On Tuesday evening, while engaged in the work of exami- 



128 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



nation, he was attacked with, fever and inflammation of the 
lungs, which confined him to his bed during the entire session 
of the Conference ; and just before the other preachers re- 
ceived their appointments, he was called by the Head of the 
Church from the scene of his labors and sufferings with his 
brethren below, to join the ransomed of the Lord in heaven. 

What a time and place for a Christian soldier to die ! Sur- 
rounded by a host of brethren beloved, who honored and 
loved him with no ordinary affection, was it not an appro- 
priate place for the Christian soldier to fight his last battle 
and gain his final triumph ? Around him were the men who 
had stood with him, shoulder to shoulder, on many a hard- 
fought field, and about his chamber waited those invisible 
hosts who had long attended his footsteps ; and best of all, 
his glorious Leader was there, speaking those words of en- 
couragement on which his soul had so often leaned in the 
hour of despondency and conflict : " Lo^I am with you alway^'^ 
sounded sweetly in his ears. 

Perhaps we cannot do better than to copy from the memoir 
published in the annual Minutes for 1839 the graphic account 
of his last moments : 

" Throughout his last illness, his j)atience, fortitude, and 
humble gratitude for any attention shown him were remark- 
able. Though at a distance from his family, and detained 
from the business of the Conference, in which he was much 
interested, his mind was kept in peace, for it was stayed upon 
God. His active mind could not refrain even in sickness 
from the study of the Holy Scriptures. He would sometimes 
exclaim: 'I've got it! I've found a key to unlock this pas- 
sage which I have long sought : I'll preach on it soon !' 

''It was remarked by a friend who sat up with him two or 
three nights before l}is death that every expression he uttered, 



ROBERT L. KEN N ON. 



129 



wlietlier asleep or awake, partook of tlie loftiest intelligence 
and the deepest piety. Two of tlie preacliers visited him soon 
after his attack, to whom he said : ' I think it very probable 
that I shall be located here, as Brother Cotton was at the last 
Conference; bnt I have no fear of death.' When asked by 
Bishop Andrew whether he was prepared for any event of 
sickness, he firmly replied, ''I am.' His faith calmly rested 
in the atonement of Christ ; and while he derived no comfort 
from any thing he himself had done, he felt that Jesus was 
precious to his soul. About an hour before his death, he 
said: 'Brethren, my feelings are most delightful: here is 
true simplicity — here is true grandeur!' He was admiring 
with rapture the glorious plan of man's salvation, on which 
alone he rested his hope, and his soul was feasting on the 
love of God. Thus lived and died this eminent servant of 
Christ. He lived for God and his Church; and when his 
work was done, he went from the walls of Zion to the city 
above — 

' His body with Ms charge laid down, 
And ceased at once to work and live.' " 

The body was taken to Tuskaloosa for burial; and the 
writer of this sketch endeavored to deliver a funeral dis- 
course to a deeply-affected audience, who had long known 
and appreciated the deceased. 



[One of the most intimate friends of Dr. Kennon, the late Governor Collier, of 
Alabama, prepared the following tribute to his memory, which is inscribed on a 
tablet placed on the right side of the pulpit of the Methodist Church in Tuska- 
loosa. — Editor.] 
9 



130 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



TO 

THE MEMOUY OF THE 

REV. ROBERT L. KENNON, 

LATE A PASTOR OF THIS CHURCH, 
WHO DIED THE 9tH DAY OF JANUARY, A. D. 1838, 
"WHILE ATTENDING THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

IN Columbus, Mississippi, 
AGED 48 years. 



As a Christian, Dr. Kennon was deeply pious, without austerity. 

As a minister, he was absorbed in the great work of preaching Christ a 
crucified, risen, ascended, and interceding Savioiu'. 

Having acquainted himself with the Sacred Scriptures, by the aid of much 
prayer and study, his discourses possessed, in an uncommon degree, the charm 
of variety. 

His argumentation, while it was persuasive and winning, was often powerful 
and resistless. 

His illustrations were apt and striking : in short, few have ever delivered ths 
Divine message with more acceptability and edification. 

For more than eighteen years, (saving an occasional absence of short continu- 
ance,) his pious labors were faithfully dispensed in this community. 

As a feeble acknowledgment of his worth, and to incite his successors to 
increased zeal in the service of their Master, this effort of art is affectionately 
dedicated to his virtues by surviving friends. 



" The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our GOD shall 
stand for ever." 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 



131 



WILLIAM MEGEE KE]^E"EDY. 

BY THE REV. JAMES STACY. 

Infinite "Wisdom seems to liave judged it best, in the 
original arrangement of animated nature, to invest it with pro- 
gressional power to an ahuost iinhmited degree ; so that 
progress may be styled the invincible law of nature in this 
department. The fruitful branch, the perfected man, or the 
civic compact, is the legitimate result of its action upon the 
germ. The occupancy of a province or continent, and the 
organization of the body politic in either, is effectuated by 
this law. Its action upon the Old World led to the discovery 
of the Western Continent, and to the firm establishment of its 
institutions. And while England and France were actuated 
by it to furnish their quota of valuable citizens to the ^''B&w 
World," Scotland and Ireland were equally liberal. From 
the latter — near Belfast — came the paternal ancestors of 
William Megee Kennedy. 

His father, Mr. Francis Kennedy, was a genuine patriot, 
and knew how to estimate civil liberty and to resist foreign 
oppression. He claimed Virginia as his native place ; but, 
through the guidance of Divine Providence, he united in 
marriage with Miss Sarah Megee, of Marlborough District, 
S. C, a most excellent lady. 



132 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Tlie happy couple were destined to pass tlirougli a severe 
ordeal. "Wlien, in 1776, tlie "War of tlie Eevolution was 
waged, Mr. Kennedy, as a brave man, roused with indigna- 
tion at the aggressive movements of the English government, 
resolved to unite with the American army in resisting the 
haughty and insolent foe. In this conflict, through the per- 
fidy of the tories and the rapacity of the English army, the 
ample estate of the family was greatly reduced. Still, Mr. 
Kennedy never received either reimbursement or pension 
from the United States government. 

The close of the Eevolution found him, therefore, unsettled 
in life, with a crippled fortune. He remained in this state 
several years, without adding much to his possessions or be- 
coming permanently settled, on which account the birthplace 
of his son, "William Megee, cannot be fixed with precision. 
An elder member of the family fixes it in Greenville District, 
S. C. But it is almost certain that he was born in the south- 
eastern section of that portion of ITorth Carolina which was, 
in 1790, ceded to Tennessee. Erom this place, the family re- 
turned to Marlborough District, S. C, and, after a few years, 
settled in Bullock county, Ga. 

William Megee felt the force of these changes of place and 
fortune, as they thwarted somewhat the purposes of his father 
respecting his education. He was, however, entered as a 
pupil in the Savannah High School soon after his removal to 
Georgia ; but he only continued a few months. He was then 
connected with a printing establishment in Savannah a short 
time. This was to him a means of improvement which he 
highly prized and used to great advantage. 

His proficiency in his studies was so marked that his way 
was speedily opened to public life. He was not, however, 
incautious in his movements. Young as he was, he sought 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 133 

the will of God, as that will might be indicated in his provi- 
dence ; and when satisfied that God approved of his course, 
he acted promptly. He was elected clerk of the conii: in 
Savannah at the age of seventeen, but it is not certain how 
long he held this office. 

His parents were not unmindful of their personal obliga- 
tions to God, or of the social duties which they owed to their 
children. Thej had been made partakers of God's pardon- 
ing grace, and felt the more intensely the necessity of train- 
ing their household " in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord." This labor of love was not bestowed on tbeir son in 
vain. His conscience was tender, his heart was impressible, 
and readily took the mould of love. He was led to seek 
salvation through the efficient ministry of the Rev. Hope 
Hull, a distinguished minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

The Church is apt to perceive true moral worth as it may 
be developed in her membership. Such a youth as this could 
not fail to attract her attention. Accordingly, he was ap- 
pointed to the leadership in the Church where he held his 
membership while quite young. His usefulness in this rela- 
tion led to the conclusion that a higher station awaited him. 
In his case, the natural qualifications for the ministry were 
so marked that the Church felt no hesitancy in authorizing 
him to preach. He has not left any data from which we can 
gather the peculiar exercises of his mind on this subject, ex- 
cept his subsequent life. 

"While he felt convinced that the Lord required him to 
preach the gospel, his modesty made his action tardy ; but 
the Church was so fully persuaded of his obligations in the 
premises, that her action might be regarded hasty. Indeed, it 
is not certain whether he applied for authority to preach, or 



134 



BIOaUAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



wlietlier the Cliureli gave him that authority without being 
asked. She did certainly make him feel that she placed all 
confidence in him, and that his labors would be highly ac- 
ceptable to her. Under these circumstances, his name was 
taken, with the requisite formalities, to the Annual Confer- 
ence as a candidate for admission into the South Carolina 
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Although the several Annual Conferences had no defined 
boundaries prior to 1804, still their separate existence was 
recognized as early as 1802 ; and the South Carolina Con- 
ference held its fifth session in the town of Camden, com- 
mencing on the 30th day of December, 1805, closing the 4th 
day of January, 1806. 

There was a rare collection of ministerial excellence on 
this occasion. There were two bishops present, Mr. Asbary 
and Mr. "Whatcoat. The Rev. "William McKendree, who was 
elected to the Episcopacy in 1808, by a very flattering vote, 
was also present. 

The Churches in the South Carolina Conference had sent 
up to this session of the body twelve noble-spirited candidates 
for the ministry. And while the number answered to that 
chosen by the Saviour when he organized his Church, their 
spirits were not dissimilar. Here, for the first time, the 
names of the sainted Samuel Dunwody and "William M. 
Kennedy were associated. And, actuated by the Holy Grliost, 
infiuenced by the same motives — the glory of God and the sal- 
vation of souls — they continued ^Hrue yoke-fellows" for more 
than thirty years, when death dissolved the terrestrial union. 

Had Bishop Asbury known the style of men by which the 
itinerant corps of Carolina was now to be reinforced, he 
would not have felt the "great heaviness" of spirit of which 
he complained on his way to Conference. 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 135 

There may be some truth, in the trite adage, " Circum- 
stances make the man." Circumstances do call forth the 
mental force and moral excellence of every right-minded 
man. The "times" in which Augustus Csesar and I^apoleon 
Bonaparte lived brought into vigorous exercise their re- 
sources. So, also, did the circumstances under which Luther 
and Wesley were placed. And as "William M. Kennedy stood 
connected, in time, with both the past and present generation 
of Methodist ministers, he would necessarily share in the 
hardships and sorrows of the former and the joyous suc- 
cesses and anticipations of the latter. The mind delights 
to dwell on those early days of Methodism. One almost 
hears the sweet anthems as they rolled from lips now silent 
in death, and the torrent of eloquence gushing from the full 
heart of the heaven-baptized minister, and the shout of vic- 
tory, rising to heaven over the thousands of souls newly born 
from above. Temporal embarrassments and spiritual pros- 
perity filled the cup of the Church in those days. As the 
moon passing through her phases first furnishes only a dim 
outline of her magnitude, afterwards unvailing a silver globe, 
so Methodism presented to our fathers little more than a life 
of suftering and unceasing labor in its earthly connections, 
but a glorious inheritance beyond the grave. The mind 
actuated by selfish principles could find no inducement to 
unite with the Methodist ministry in those days. However 
literary, intellectual, or wealthy a young man might be, in 
connecting himself with the ministry, even as late as 1806, 
he had spread before him a scene of unceasing labor, untold 
sufferings and peril, together with a mere pittance for sup- 
port. He might receive eighty-four dollars per annum, if the 
Church offered it to him, to cover all expenses ! With such 
a prospect before him, it required a young man of vast moral 



136 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



courage, of unfaltering integrity, witli a spirit baptized witli 
the Holy G-liost, to enter and continue in tlie itinerant min- 
istry. 

A man of tlie world, tliougli a profound thinker, stands 
amazed to see a young man of fine sensibilities, of amiable 
spirit and encouraging worldly prospects, tearing himself 
away from early associations, from the bosom of parental 
affection and flattering prospects of success in life, and urg- 
ing his onward course to some distant field of labor, without 
the pledge of even a meagre support, to say nothing of a 
provision for the dark days of affliction and age ; yet this 
was the case with young Kennedy. In the beginning of 
1806, when he had just completed his twenty-third year, he 
might have been seen taking an affectionate leave of those 
he loved. And, lifting his eyes and heart to heaven in 
humble prayer for Divine protection and guidance, he turned 
his face toward his first field of labor in the State of Georgia. 
Here his itinerant career commenced. 

It is a work worthy of the strongest and most devout mind 
to inquire after the impulsive agency which moved a young 
man of such a mould to commence and continue so long a 
course of suffering and toil with such indomitable zeal and 
unfaltering courage, without a promise of any earthly com- 
fort. The problem can be solved by a spiritual process alone. 
A celestial visitant spoke to his heart, and his interior ear 
was opened. The cry of perishing souls was heard, saying, 

Come over and help us !" How could he resist the call? 
How can any man, who loves God and lays a proper estimate 
on the souls of men, resist it ? How dare he resist, seeing he 
thereby imperils his own soul ! 

It may be readily seen how a man whose mind is beset 
with doubt on this vital point may fear and falter through 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 137 

tJie wliole of his ministerial life. Even an archangel would 
tremble to assume the character and attempt the work of 
the minister of Christ, unbidden by Jehovah. 

Jesus Christ has purchased the Church with his own blood. 
She must be served — the gospel must be preached. But 
"who is sufficient for these things?" and who shall venture 
to "touch the ark" of God? He who enters the ministry 
should be convinced in his own mind that he is Divinely 
called to this work. It is true that the evidence of this call 
may not be entirely satisfactory at first. But devout suppli- 
cation, blended with resignation to the will of God, will soon 
quiet all fear. There must be an action of the Holy Ghost 
upon the heart, moving it in that line of life. " It is neces- 
sary," says Yinet, " that God should speak to the heart. He 
alone who created the world can make a minister of the gos- 
pel. This is true not only because he alone gives the talents 
and the acquisition, but especially because there is something 
more profound which he alone can give. It is the right 
neither of the greatest talent, nor the greatest labor, nor the 
most extended science, to ' steal' this mission. A man makes 
himself guilty of simony when he would buy the ministry as 
a venal thing, at the price of talent or labor." 

The office of the ministry cannot be taken as a ^profession 
and the holder be guiltless. One may consult the aptitudes 
of his nature in choosing the practice of law, medicine, or 
the fine arts : such a course accords with the will and govern- 
ment of God. But in moral questions the tendencies of na- 
ture are adverse to the Divine will. Hence, to consult our 
natural inclinations respecting the work of the ministry will 
lead to disastrous results. 

There are certain qualifications which must exist in the 
candidate, and which must be in course of development 



138 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



wlien lie is admitted into tlie ministry. So that the Churcli. 
in j&nally determining the genuineness of liis call, mnst not 
be indifferent to liis natural qualifications, while she demands 
the existence of the inward call, the moving of the Holy 
Ghost. 

"In reference to some qualifications which are indispensa- 
ble to ministerial success," says Dr. Olin, ''some degree of 
deficiency, or even the entire want of them, is not an indica- 
tion that the individual should not devote himself to the 
sacred calling. Many obstacles are, in their nature, vincible, 
and may be overcome by time and perseverance. Imperfec- 
tion in education, in knowledge, and even religious experi- 
ence, may exist to an extent which renders an entrance upon 
the ministry immediately exceedingly improper, without con- 
stituting any presumption against the existence of a Divine 
vocation to that work." The Church lays great stress on 
ministerial success as evidence of a Divine call to this work. 
If any one can point to the seals of his ministry and say, 
"These are my epistles, known and read of all men," who 
shall gainsay his claims to the ministerial functions ? 

When William M. Kennedy applied for admission into the 
South Carolina Conference, he came as an humble Christian 
man. The general lack of facilities for intellectual culture 
had been felt by him. Tie had not even a complete academic 
education. Still, he had a good constitution, a mind fall of 
vigor, and susceptible of improvement ; and he was anxious 
to improve. He had been genuinely converted; and the 
"love of Christ constrained" him to offer himself to the 
Church, feeling that whatever disposition she might make of 
his case, he would be resigned. He exhibited every charac- 
teristic of a Christian man called of God to the ministry. 
He felt the movings of the Holy Ghost ; souls were converted 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 139 

tlirougli his labors both as a class-leader and as a licentiate ; 
and although very imperfect in his early mental training, still 
he gave am]ple proof of having a sound mind." He had an 
excellent voice, and a commanding personal appearance.. 
With this combination of encouraging characteristics, he 
placed himself at the disposal of the Church of his choice. 
She received him "as a son in the gospel." 

It was the fortune of this estimable minister to serve the 
Church in almost all the relations vv^hich the Methodist econo- 
my recognizes as proper, primarily, for her ministers to hold. 
He was placed on a Circuit three years. His appointment for 
1806 was the Broad River Circuit, in the State of G-eorgiao 
He served the Church on the Enoree Circuit the next year, 
and the year after he was sent to Santee Circuit. 

In the beginning of the present century, an Annual Con- 
ference included three or four States, and a whole State 
served as a Presiding Elder's District, and the Circuits were 
in the same proportion. The Circuit preacher then would 
travel from two to four hundred miles in twenty-eight days, 
and preach, upon an average, six times each week. And it 
mattered not whether the weather were hot or cold, wet or 
dry — whether the house of worship were a private residence, 
a log-cabin, or a barn, the fearless herald of the cross pro- 
claimed to all the "unsearchable riches of Christ." Sinners 
were awakened by hundreds, and in their distress they sought 
and found pardon through faith in the Saviour's name. In 
this work the young preacher rejoiced. His love to God was 
vehement, his desire to do good was all-prevailing. A min- 
istering angel never rejoiced with richer joy than Kennedy 
felt over the returning sinner as he approached the sceptre of 
Jesus and found pardon. ISTotwithstanding he took so much 
lelight in doing good to others, he was not unmindful of the 



140 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



"vows of Gocl" wliicli were upon Mm. He was pledged to 
mental as well as moral improvement. It is true tliat books 
were tlien comparatively scarcej his daily rides were long 
and Ms labors fatiguing, yet, true to Ms purpose, lie "gave 
Mmself to reading" — "redeeming tlie time." When he had 
spent time enough with the family where he might chance to 
lodge for religious and social purposes, (and he was social in 
the full sense of the term,) he retired to his room, if he had 
one, or to the woods ; or, if unavoidable, he sat down in the 
domestic circle, and, closing eyes and ears to what was pass- 
ing, as much as he might, gave himself to his books and his 
studies. God blessed him in this work also ; and his early 
limited stores acquired new supplies with surprising rapidity. 
Hence his speedy rise to a position of eminence in his Con- 
ference. 

He served the Church as a stationed preacher thirteen years. 
He was stationed in the city of Charleston in 1809, 1810, 1820, 
1821, 1834, and 1835 ; Camden, 1818 ; Wilmington, K C, 
1819; Augusta, Ga., 1826-27; Columbia, S. C, 1828, 1829, 
1836, and 1837. During these years, his ministerial cha- 
racter was fully developed both as to his abilities as a 
preacher and a pastor. In the former he was not regarded 
as eloquent, nor did his pulpit efforts appear scholarly ; still 
Ms mode of exegesis was simple and forcible. He rarely 
preached a set discourse on any of the mooted points of 
theology. He confined his public ministrations to what he 
regarded the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. In his pulpit pre- 
parations, he studied the sacred text upon his knees. He 
labored to ascertain the mind of the Spirit. And when he 
was satisfied that he had grasped the import of his text — in 
some degree at least — he went before the people, relying for 
success upon the blessing of God alone ; and as his mind re- 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 



141 



eeived the lioly afflatus, and liis heart glowed with, the love 
of Jesus, and his sweet spirit moved his tongue to pour forth 
the truth of God in gentle tones, there came an unction upon 
the preacher and the hearer which gave efficiency to the 
"word." It went to the heart as a keen blade, wounding 
the sinner's conscience, consoling the contrite spirit, en- 
couraging the weak believer, and ''building him up" in the 
faith of the gospel. 

Although he was not regarded as a man of great learning, 
nor considered perfect in his style of speaking, yet, such was 
his unworldly mien, his unaffected piety, his affectionate in- 
tercourse with the people, and his faithful, earnest, successful 
preaching, that he was, in the best and strongest sense of the 
phrase, a popular preacher. All the people loved him — they 
reverenced him as ''a man of God." He was emphatically 
an apostolical preacher. And thousands will call him 
"blessed" in the great assize, as the chief instrument in 
their salvation. 

But he excelled most ministers in the pastoral relation. 
While stationed in the large towns and cities, his pulpit obli- 
gations demanded a great deal of reading and study. But 
he regarded the pastoral claims as equally important, and 
dared not to ignore them. He even preferred to act the part 
of an angel of mercy, unobserved, rather than to shine as a 
star of the first magnitude. He was ready to serve all classes 
of his charge. The habitation of the poor was often cheered 
by his presence and his prayers. He was ready to serve the 
humblest slave in the work of salvation, while he suitably 
regarded those in better circumstances. His intercourse with 
all classes was marked with dignified meekness, and faithful- 
ness blended with urbanity. When reproof was necessary, 
he gave it; and it is questionable whether any uninspired 



142 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



man was ever better qualified tlian William M. Kennedy for 
that most difficult part of a pastor's duty. He did it plainly, 
yet witli so much affection and gentleness as to completely 
disarm the delinquent, and lead him to see his folly and 
mourn over it with purposes of amendment. He arrested 
more cases of incipient backsliding perhaps than any other 
man of his age ; and if the members of his charge needed 
encouragement, he was prepared to give it. The promises 
of the gospel sat gracefully on his lips ; and the spirit of 
kindness with which he quoted them permitted them to carry 
their native richness to the disconsolate soul; and his ex- 
perience enabled him to unfold the way of salvation to the 
humble penitent so clearly that the needed relief was soon 
obtained. His visits to the sick and dying were peculiarly 
blessed, both to the sufferer and himself ; for, while his sym- 
pathizing spirit seemed to share the pains of the afflicted 
and the agonies of the death-struggle — his humble pleadings 
meanwhile procuring from the throne of grace the needed 
aid — his own soul participated also in the grace given, and 
his confidence in the efficiency of the gospel of Christ grew 
stronger. Death is an honest hour, in which any defect, 
either in the creed or experience of mortals, will be detected. 
Here, many a finely-wrought theory, hitherto untested, has 
vanished like a gorgeous cloud before the boreal blast. Here, 
too, many who have passed through life noiselessly, have ex- 
emplified the power of grace so wonderfully as to strike 
terror to the heart of the unbeliever and inspire the timid 
with unwonted courage. It is not surprising, then, that 

"The chamber where the good man meets Ms fate" 

should be sought by the ''man of G-od," that he might, as an 
angel of mercy, smooth the passage to the tomb, and deliver 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 



143 



up to tlie Lord Jesus tlie soul wMcli, as an under-slieplierd, 
lie had guided in the way of life. To him, it is a place 

privileged beyond the common walk 

Of virtuous life," 

seeing each triumphant death is an additional proof both of 
the truth and power of Christianity. 

Is the scheme of redemption, unfolded in the 'New Testa- 
ment, able to save a sinner ? What finite mind could answer 
the inquiry prior to the first attestation of its power ? The 
angels desire to look into" the efficiency of this wonderful 
system ; and, as the ingeniously wrought piece of mechanism 
in the experimental process is watched with eager interest by 
the artisan, so do they behold the workings of gospel grace 
in the renewal of a sinner's heart. 

And, as the dying-hour furnishes the final test of the gen- 
uineness of Christian experience known to mortals, the min- 
ister of Christ repairs with solemn interest to the chamber 
of the dying Christian, who, lifting his eyes and prayers to 
heaven, secures the presence of an indwelling Saviour, and with 
enrapturing visions of glory passes away from earth, furnish- 
ing to each beholder a practical illustration of the ability of 
Christ to ^'save to the uttermost" all who come to God 
through him. From such scenes our brother would return 
with his spirit subdued, his faith increased, and his zeal 
wonderfully intensified. A man of such mould and habits 
could not fail to secure the affections of his people. 

The junior portion of his charge shared largely in his 
affectionate regards and pious labors. He was a strong be- 
liever in juvenile conversions. While his intercourse with 
children was free from moroseness, it was, nevertheless, so 
grave as to impress the yoiithful mind deeply with a sense of 



144 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



the sanctity of the ministerial office. Still his gravity yras 
attractive. The children with whom he had intercourse felt 
it, yet they loved him ; and they felt, also, that he loved 
them. The child reads the heart, as it is developed in the 
countenance, with sui-prising accuracy. That little child 
whom Jesus called unto him was not afraid of the reverend 
stranger. It could read in his countenance the affection of 
his heart. The heavenly radiance which beamed from his 
eyes instantly captivated that young heart. The same re- 
sults, in some measure, follow the intercourse which the 
devout minister holds with the children of his charge. The 
Discipline of the Church enjoins on every minister in charge 
of a circuit or station "to obtain the names of the children 
belonging to his congregations, and to leave a list of such 
names for his successors ; and in his pastoral visits he shall 
pay special attention to the children, speak to them person- 
ally and kindly on experimental and practical godliness, 
according to their capacity; pray earnestly for them, etc." 
Perhaps the Church has never had a minister who complied 
with this reo:ulation more faithfullv than "William M. Ken- 
nedy. He kept a little book in which he recorded the 
names of all the children of his charge ; and he remembered 
them in his daily prayers, especially in his private pleadings 
before the mercy-seat. Could that little book be found, it 
might furnish an explanation of the active agencies which 
have produced so many instances of notable piety amongst 
those who in childhood enjoyed his counsels. Many of those 
children have grown up to years of maturity, are fathers and 
mothers themselves, yet they will never forget — ^they never 
can forget the benignant glance, the gentle voice, the loving 
smile of "Uncle Kennedy." 

The Divine character of Christianity is strikingly exhibited 



WILLIAM M. KEXXEDY. 145 

in its evoliitiouaiy i^ower. The latency of tliat power does 
not prove its abridgment. It is latent or active, as unerring 
Wisdom may demand, in effectuating tlie purposes of God 
on eartli. The partial concealment of the evolutionary capa- 
bilities of Christianity may perplex human reason ; but God, 
who knows how and when to furnish the interpretation of 
his own providential movements, will, in due time, unravel 
the mysterious problem. "We may not be able to apprehend 
the reasons which induced the Almighty to withhold from 
men the fall measure of religious knowledge and privilege 
for four thousand years, which induced him to permit the 
infant Church to suffer persecution, almost to extinction, and 
which caused him to suffer the "dark ages" to mantle his 
"spouse" in mourning drapery; still, every succeeding eccle- 
siastical epoch casts additional light on the past, and every 
triumph of the Church over her adversaries, varying, as they 
always have done, each succeeding manoeuvre, serves to call 
forth, in unwonted measures, her evolutionary power. In 
this way, the "dark ages" — a night of nine hundred years' 
dm-ation — afforded an occasion to the Church for the exhibi- 
tion of her strength in the "Reformation ;" while the apathy 
and corruption of the Anglican Church, in the beginning of 
the last century, called forth Christianity in her ^Methodistic 
form. Methodism is Christianity. It is Christianity freed 
from all superstitious forms — from all legendary rites. It is 
the manhood of Christianity, in which new measures of the 
latent energy of the gospel are evolved, and in which the 
adaptability of the governmental forms of the Church of 
Christ to the wants and capabilities of all classes of society, 
and all nations, however benighted, is wonderfully exhibited. 
One peculiarity in the organism of this form of Christianity 
is the office of Presiding Elder. It is peculiar to Episcopal 
10 



146 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Methodism in America. As Methodism is regarded the off- 
spring of Divine Providence, and as the necessities of the 
Church demanded the office of Presiding Elder, the provision 
to meet the emergency is justly considered a providential 
work. The Presiding Eldership is certainly an indispensahle 
adjunct to an itinerating Episcopacy. Diocesan Episcopacy 
may dispense with it; but by how much the feeble effort 
made for its abolishment in the economy of American 
Methodism may succeed, by so much will the effort tend to 
Diocesan Episcopacy.- An itinerant Episcopacy demands a 
comparatively local representative, invested with the func- 
tions of the Episcopal office, under ample and specified restric- 
tions. Such a representative is found in a Presiding Elder. 

This relation to the Church is one of vast responsibility ; 
and in the early years of American Methodism the incum- 
bent was subjected to unmeasured toils and sufferings. 
"William M. Kennedy served the Church in this relation 
fifteen years. He was a^^pointed to the Charleston (first 
called Saluda, then Edisto) District, in 1811, 1812, and 1813; 
to the Pedee District, in 1814, 1815, 1816, 181T, 1822, 1828, 
1824, and 1825 ; and to the Columbia District, in 1830, 1831, 
1832, and 1833. 

His first District extended west of Charleston nearly two 
hundred miles. His residence being in the city, and having 
to reach his other appointments in a private conveyance, he 
was necessarily exposed both to fatigue and the most malig- 
nant disease. There is a belt of low land, many leagues in 
width, surrounding the city of Charleston. Leaving the city 
in a private conveyance, the traveller is obliged to spend a 
night in this miasmatic district. The medical fraternity of 
Charleston had decided that to sleep in this region of disease 
a single night exposed the sleeper to an attack of " country 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 147 

fever;" and there was raore triitli tlian fiction in tlie decision. 
The "country fever" was considered scarcely less fatal than 
the yellow fever, and was perhaps equally unyielding to 
medical skill. But what shall our Presiding Elder do ? Shall 
he quail before danger, and skulk away ? He never did. He 
seems to have adopted the motto of Dr. Adam Clarke : "A 
minister is immortal until his work is done." He put his 
trust in God, and learned to say from the heart, Thy will 
be done." 

He did not, however, consider that his work as a Presiding 
Elder was accomplished when he had preached, and had 
finished the business of the Quarterly Conference. He knew 
that "in the absence of the bishop" it was his duty to 
"take charge of all the elders and deacons, travelling and 
local preachers, and exhorters, in his district," to see "that 
every part of the Discipline be enforced," and "to oversee 
the spiritual and temporal business of the Church." This 
work employed his hands, his head, and his heart. "With 
what solicitude did he look upon the poor brother minister 
who, like himself, had "left all" — whether little or much— 
to do the Master's work, and who, with his family, through 
the poverty or parsimony of his charge, was left to subsist on 
a mere pittance ! His generous heart would not allow him to 
witness such a spectacle with indifference. He was always 
ready to sympathize with such a co-laborer, and to divide 
with him the last morsel of bread. 

He conducted himself toward the aged ministers of the 
Church with respectful deference and unreserved affection. 
And, while he did all in his power for the men who were 
actively engaged in the work of the ministry with him, he 
manifested special solicitude for the superannuated ministers 
of the Conference. He was one of the most efficient and 



148 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



liberal managers of tlie Trust wliicli liad been created bj the 
Conference for tlieir special benefit. 

The junior preachers on bis District found in Mm a faith- 
ful friend and a safe counsellor — one whose guidance might 
always be trusted. 

The mode of ministerial training adopted by the Church 
invests the office of the Presiding Elder with special import- 
ance. He holds to the junior preachers of his charge the 
relation of exemplar and preceptor; and his fidelity or un- 
faithfulness does a great deal toward fijsing the destiny of 
these young men. Scores have commenced a ministerial 
career with the most flattering prospects, but through the in- 
attention or incautiousness of their Presiding Elders have 
made limited progress, or have retired to hopeless obscurity. 
Cur brother acquitted himself in this department of duty 
with rare ability. He took the young ministers under his 
care by the hand, with a cordiality peculiar to himself, ad- 
mitted them into confidential relations, and spoke to them 
with fatherly affection, thus gaining their respect and con- 
fidence : he would point out their defects, and show them the 
remedy : he would unfold the privileges of the gospel, urge 
them to a more enlarged experience of grace, and assist them 
in choosing the best mode of preaching the gospel. Erom 
such interviews, the tyro in theology went forth with new 
accjuisitions of knowledge, with an improved experience, and 
an increase of zeal in the work of the Lord. 

His influence in the Quarterly Conference was largely 
beneficial to the Church. Laymen and local preachers are 
united with the travelling ministry in this primary judicatory 
for the transaction of the business of the Church. The man- 
ner in which the presiding officer discharges his duty does 
much to unite or alienate these elements of our ecclesiastical 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 



149 



organization. William M. Kennedy's conduct on sucli occa- 
sions is worthy of all commendation. Courteous and meek 
as lie was, lie could not fail to secure the esteem of all, and 
to succeed admirably in harmonizing any discordancy w^hich 
might arise amongst his brethren in transacting the business 
of the Church. As a proof of the esteem in which he was 
held by his brethren, he was elected president of the Con- 
ference, at the session in Fayetteville, I^. C, January, 1831 — 
no Bishop being present on that occasion. 

Having now served the Church, either as circuit preacher, 
stationed preacher, or presiding elder, for more than thirty 
years, with so much fidelity and success as to secure her 
affection and unqualified confidence, and as the services of 
such a man were needed in another department of labor, he 
consented to act as agent for Cokesbury School in 1838 and 
1839. 

The circumstances under w^hich he commenced this work 
were somewhat peculiar and embarrassing. The South Caro- 
lina Conference had determined, in 1834, to endow a Profes- 
sorship in Randolph Macon College. An efficient agent had 
been appointed to collect twenty thousand dollars for that 
purpose. There had been an agent appointed in 1835 to 
make collections in behalf of Cokesbury School. These 
agents had travelled through the Conference limits for the 
two or three preceding years ; and the appeals which they 
had made in behalf of the educational interests of the Church 
had been so eloquently and successfully pressed upon the 
people, that it required a man of eminent ability to enter 
upon this work at such a juncture with any hope of success. 
The new incumbent had passed through an ordeal which 
qualified him for the task. He had taken many a lesson in 
domestic economy under the pressure of the circumstances 



150 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



attendant upon the married life of an early itinerant minister, 
While lie was a single man, lie found it comparatively an 
easy matter to provide for Ms personal wants ; bnt wlien lie 
became a married man, a new class of difficulties appeared ; 
and liis embarrassments multiplied as Ms family increased. 
As a man of sagacity and refinement, be felt bound not only 
to furnish a competent support for Ms family, but to educate 
them also. And while from principle he avoided an extrava- 
gant outlay in this direction, still his generous spirit would 
not suffer his household to be subjected to discomfort while 
he had a farthing at command. The provisions made by the 
Church were often insufficient to meet these reasonable 
wants. The most rigid economy compatible with domestic 
comfort failed to make receipts from this source equal to the 
necessary expenditures. Still he did not murmur. He did 
not pursue his financial board with harsh epithets and bitter 
complaints. IsTever ! Whenever it became necessary to make 
any communication to his stewards, it was done with frank- 
ness and magnanimity ; and if the supplies were still insuffi- 
cient, he would trench upon his private resources, both prin- 
cipal and interest. 

A bosom friend of his, in a letter just received, says : "I 
have often heard him say that he was willing to suffer priva- 
tions himself, but he would not subject his family to them. 
He constantly practiced self-denial, but looked with unabated 
care to the wants of his household ; and any convenience or 
comfort his purse could reach was theii's. Such things as 
are usually provided in parsonages, if lacking, he supplied, 
whether reimbursed by the Church or not. I have heard him 
state repeatedly that for a number of years his private re- 
sources had been annually diminished to meet the wants of 
his family. Still he never complained, nor swerved from the • 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 151 

patli of duty, 'for he had respect unto the recompense of 
the reward.' " 

Such a man could go forth as an agent for the Church, and 
Jiis gleanings would be equal to the harvest of others less 
skilful in economical matters and the equation of charitable 
claims. 

He conceived a plan which, if effectuated, would relieve 
the institution of all pecuniary embarrassment. The sum 
needed was to be raised by procuring a sufficient number of 
persons who would give a note for one hundred dollars re- 
spectively, bearing interest from date ; and while the interest 
alone should be collectable, the subscriber had the privilege 
of paying the principal before his death ; but should he pay 
the interest alone during his life, then, after his death, the 
terms of the subscription made the principal collectable also. 
The plan succeeded, and secured to the school a handsome 
income. 

This was the last work he performed as an effective minis- 
ter, closing a career of usefulness in the advocacy of en- 
lightened piety — Christianity and literature blended — a suit- 
able work for " a man of God." 

If the civic panegyrist is sustained in seeking an archetype 
for his friend amongst the poets, philosophers, or statesmen 
of antiquity, claiming for his mind a Roman or Grecian 
mould, may not the biographer of the Christian minister seek 
an apostolic model ? It might be asked with propriety, who 
can trace the character of William M. Kennedy without 
thinking of the Apostle John ? 

Some men are distinguished for their fertility of imagina- 
tion, others for their retentiveness of memory, and others for 
their volubility. "While it is not claimed for this venerable 
man that he excelled in mental force, learning, or eloquence, 



152 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



it is confidently claimed tliat the elements of ministerial 
greatness were combined in him in an eminent degree. 

He had a peculiarly well-balanced mind. His perception 
w^as not quick, it is true, yet it was nice: his judgment was 
somewhat tardy in prosecuting its task ; still, when the work 
was done, it rarely required emendation : he formed his 
opinions deliberately, and scarcely ever found it necessary to 
change them; and such was his discretion, that, in the 
various responsible relations he sustained to the Church, it is 
questionable whether a single instance of rashness could be 
justly charged upon him. 

Prudent, sagacious, and wise in counsel, he was well pre- 
pared to serve the Church in her highest judicatory. And 
the South Carolina Conference manifested her appreciation 
of his merit by selecting him as one of her representatives 
in the first delegated General Conference held for the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. 

He had graduated to elder's orders two years prior to this 
election, yet he was deemed worthy to take his place in the 
highest council of the Church with her ablest divines. And 
in each similar quadrennial election, he was thus honored by 
his brethren during the remainder of his efiiective ministerial 
life. Hence, it is fairly inferred that his popularity was 
based on real merit, possessed in an extraordinary measure. 

Doubtless, his sociability contributed alike to his happi- 
ness, usefulness, and popularity. He was fond of society, yet 
he was prudent in his social intercourse. He was courteous 
to -all, while he selected confidential friends with caution. 
"While he was remarkable for his frankness, his affability and 
childlike artlessness combined made him a general favorite. 

He was sufiiciently retired in his habits for eminent piety, 
still his social disposition forbade his being a recluse. His 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 153 

proclivity in this direction led liini to seek a bosom friend. 
As in every thing else, so in this, his movements were 
marked with pious caution. Kelying upon Divine guidance, 
his way was opened for a matrimonial alliance with Miss 
Abigail Young, of Sumter District, S. C. She was a lady of 
exemplary piety, prudence, and intelligence, and was well 
qualified to act the part of an itinerant minister's wife. But 
in this instance his conjugal felicity was destined to a speedy 
termination. Two years had not passed before the hand of 
death snatched her from his side, and introduced her into 
the presence of the glorified Saviour, ^uch, however, was 
his confidence in God, that he endured the visitation with 
humble submission, and continued in his appropriate work 
with u.nabated zeal. 

It is worthy of remark, as demonstrative of his unworldli- 
ness, that, after the death of his wife, he returned to her 
father a handsome estate which he had inherited by her, 
alleging as his reason for returning it his inability, as a tra- 
velling minister, to supervise the spiritual interests of the 
servants. After a sufficient time had elapsed for the poig- 
nancy of his grief to abate, he sought and obtained the hand 
and affections of Miss Ann M. Jones, daughter of Mr. 
William Jones, of Wilmington, E". C. Her parents having 
died while she was quite young, she was educated under the 
oversight of an uncle, whose house was her home. This 
estimable man did for her all that a pious father could do ; 
and she profited greatly by the privileges she enjoyed. She 
grew up in the paths of piety, and consecrated herself to 
God with an unreservedness which is worthy of all com- 
mendation. 

It is too often the case that those who are brought up in 
affluence are swayed by the spirit of the world. She was an 



151 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



exception. The blandisliments of worldly pleasures had no 
power over her heart. Jesus, to whom she had surrendered 
it, reigned over it ; and it was her chief delight to do his 
will. It is not surprising, therefore, that she consented to 
share the varying fortunes of an itinerant minister, under a 
conviction that duty demanded the sacrifice. In this choice 
"William M. Kennedy was peculiarly fortunate. Her spirit 
was congenial to his own. Pious, intelligent, amiable, and 
prudent, she was for him ''a help meet" indeed. Although 
the x^atrimony left to her by her father, added to her hus- 
band's, would have been ample both for happiness and com- 
fort in any ordinary occupation, it annually diminished by 
the necessary drain upon it, made to meet the deficiencies of 
the provisions made by the Church. She witnessed all this 
without a murmur, and rejoiced that her husband and herself 
had been counted worthy to suffer" for Christ's sake. 

They lived in happy union several years. These were 
years both of pleasure and responsibility; for while the 
claims of the Church pressed heavily upon them, a new class 
of obligations sprang up. God gave them lovely children, 
who were to be trained to his glory. They were dedicated to 
him in baptism ; and in the daily prayers of these pious 
parents their children were consecrated to God. 

They felt, however, that their work was not yet finished. 
Their children must be governed. This is a diffictilt task even 
under the most favorable circumstances, especially so with an 
itinerant minister. He is often absent from home, at which 
time that work which properly belongs to both parents de- 
volves on the mother alone ; and when he rettirns home, the 
pleasure he feels in meeting his family is apt to induce for- 
bearance, when, perhaps, correction is needed. And it some- 
times happens that incatitious friends encottrage those things 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 155 

iu cliildren wliicli a Christian parent sliould condemn, tlius 
making the government of his children still more difficult. 
The Christian minister feels the force of these and kindred 
circumstances ; and the warm hearty of William M. Kennedy 
may not have been full proof against them at all times ; still 
he governed his household with Christian meekness and 
manly vigor. 

'No pious parent is satisfied, however, with blameless mo- 
rality and religious punctuality alone in his children. He 
desires to see them converted. Hence, this man of God sought 
devoutly this blessing for his children; and although his 
prayers might seem unavailing for the time, yet God put his 
"tears into his bottle," and recorded his prayers in the 
"book of his remembrance." 

Incorrigible indifference may render the most powerful 
prayers nugatory; but the prayer of faith secures every 
needed blessing for the contrite soul. How must the glori- 
fied spirit of this "man of God" rejoice as he looks down 
upon his fatherless children and sees them walking in wis- 
dom's way ! 

He was not assisted in the godly work of training these 
children for heaven to the time of his death by their own 
mother. This estimable lady, who had been to him an angel 
of mercy so long, was taken to her reward in heaven a few 
years prior to his own death. 

Along with her sickness and death there came a dark 
cloud, which hu.ng portentously over his social prospects. 
She left him under circumstances unlike any through which 
he had passed. He was now somewhat advanced in life. He 
had a family of seven children, some of whom were quite 
young, others of an age in which the character is formed. 
His presence is needed constantly to govern and guide ; and 



156 



BIOGHAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



tlie task is doubly difficult. Tliere is now no mother's gentle 
rebuke to restrain, nor smile to soothe his children. How 
could he leave them ? How could he meet their wants alone ? 
He felt that he could not perform this work unaided. But to 
provide for the emergency required the exercise of a pure 
heart, a mature judgment, guided by the Spirit of God. If 
it were practicable for his lacerated affections to be healed, 
and if it were possible for him to find another whom he could 
tenderly love, and who would reciprocate his affection, yet 
to find such a one who would at the same time perform the 
part of a mother to his children, was not an easy matter. 
He felt that he could only hold his will subordinate to the 
will of Grod, and await the indications of his providence. 

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Huguenots 
(or French Protestants) suffered sad reverses by the revoca- 
tion of the edict of l^antes. Thousands of pious families 
suffered exile. A descendant of one of these families now 
lives in Wilmington, 'N. C. Dr. A. J. DeEosset is an old 
man— nearly eighty-nine years of age. His daughter, Catha- 
rine, inherited the noble spirit which her ancestors possessed. 
Her religious independence and conscientious scruples were 
nicely adjusted and placed under the control of a well-culti- 
vated mind and a mature judgment. Her religious prefer- 
ences led her away from the ecclesiastical association of her 
forefathers, and she became a consistent, persevering member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She commenced her 
religious life with a purpose, deliberately formed, to do the 
will of Grod at any cost. And her manner of life has fur- 
nished, and still furnishes, an apt illustration of Huguenot 
firmness. Her qualifications to hold maternal relationship to 
the motherless children of "William M. Kennedy would not 
be questioned by any who knew her well ; but whether she 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 157 

would consent to liold that relation remained untested. He 
knew that should she consider it consonant with the will of 
God, every thing else would yield to that paramount con- 
sideration. The subject was carried before God in the spirit 
of meekness ; and a conviction of duty led to an effectuation 
of his purposes. This devout couple were united in holy 
wedlock on the 25th of October, 1835. The godly work of 
training these children for heaven had been carried on for 
years by their sainted mother. At her death, the maternal 
department ceased for a season : it was now to be resumed. 
And while this pious lady commenced the work with trepida- 
tion, arising from an apprehended disqualification for it, yet, 
having as delicate an appreciation of her responsibilities as 
any stepmother ever had, and relying for aid upon God alone, 
she commenced and continued in this work with a rare mea- 
sure of success. Her husband and herself were a unit in the 
work of governing, instructing, and praying for these chil- 
dren. It is not surprising, therefore, that they should grow 
up in the fear of the Lord. 

The eldest daughter, who had become the wife of a mem- 
ber of the South Carolina Conference, and who was a model 
of filial affection, of conjugal love and Christian piety, passed 
away from earth to her heavenly home before her father. 

Some of the other children are pious and useful members 
of the Church so loved and admired by their sainted father. 
How could they act otherwise with such an example before 
them ? — the example of one who while on earth had perhaps 
as few faults as' any other man, and who, " being dead, yet 
speaketh" to them, and to all who have known him, the 
words of truth, and, by an impersonation of the elements of 
a virtuous life, now for ever closed in its terrestrial form, sets 
forth both the excellency and power of gospel grace. 



158 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



It is no uncommon tiling for doting parents and friends to 
see, or tMnk tliey see, in those they love, augural traits 
wMcli mark them out for a noble destiny. In some cases, 
the augury owes its existence wholly to the imagination ; in 
others, native talent may furnish precocious developments. 
The relatives of young Kennedy were right in their calcula- 
tions respecting his destiny. Their hopes of him were high ; 
and there seemed to have been just grounds for such hopes. 
A gentleman says, that while yet a boy, " he manifested re- 
markable amiability, discreetness, magnanimity, and a true 
nobility of nature. He was possessed of many traits of 
character which marked him out as a youth of uncommon 
promise." However much the judgment may be swayed by 
the imagination in forming an opinion of the "inner man" 
by the j)hysique, it is certain that there is such an intimacy be- 
tween them that the latter does furnish indications of the 
character of the former. Hence, when Samuel went to the 
house of Jesse to anoint a successor to Saul, all the elder 
sons passed before him without impressing him by their out- 
ward appearance. But when David came, he had " a beauti- 
ful countenance," and the prophet was so impressed by his 
apimtrance that he instantly anointed him king in the room 
of Saul. 

Young Kennedy was not "beautiful;" still he was comely. 
He was of medium stature, and well formed. In advanced 
life, he became somewhat corpulent. 

In the original oil-painting, from which the accompanying 
likeness is taken, the artist has failed to " do him justice. 
The contour of his face is drawn with sufficient distinctness 
to call up his image in the mind of a familiar friend ; but the 
expression is sadly defective. The eye, in the picture, wants 
the benignity and intelligence of the original ; and the physi- 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 



159 



ognomic blending of moutli and eyes lacks tlie smile wliicli 
liis face usually wore. "With tliese exceptions, the facial de- 
lineations are sufficiently correct. 

The physiologist will readily perceive that such a form as 
the likeness represents would be peculiarly liable to apoplec- 
tic attacks. Perhaps no man possessed a more robust frame 
than William M. Kennedy. He was, withal, prudent and 
abstemious in his habits. Hence, with God's blessing, he 
labored hard, holding no other than an effective relation to 
the Conference for thirty-three years. But there are forms 
of disease against which neither human sagacity nor pru- 
dence can protect us. It was reserved, in the providence of 
God, for our brother to fall by the agency of such an attack. 
The first marked approach of the disease was manifested in 
1839 ; and at the close of this year he was placed in a super- 
annuated relation to the Conference. He did not, even then, 
ask this relation. He would have preferred to hold an effect- 
ive relation to the Church; but his brethren chose the 
former for him, and he meekly yielded his judgment to 
theirs. 

It has been said that it requires more strength and 'pietj to 
leave the stage of active life gracefully than it does to ascend 
it. WTiile yet the proud eminence is before us, the energies 
of life are full of vigor, and its horizon spreads out broadly, 
inviting us to long-continued labor and renown, an inspira- 
tion comes u.pon us which knows no abatement while the 
faculties God has given us remain unimpaired. But when 
the rapid flight of years, blended with long-continued labor, 
has impaired life's machinery, and the eye grows dim, the 
locks turn gray, the cheeks are furrowed, the limbs tremu- 
lous, and the whole man is bending toward the grave, who, 
under such circumstances, feels the inspiration peculiar to 



160 



BIOGPtAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



manliood's prime ? Yet, man is even tlien unwilling to ac- 
knowledge nature's decline ! Even grace fails, in some in- 
stances, to remove our reluctancy to make tlie admission.' 
"While tke aged minister may feel the aversion common to 
our nature to retire into childlike inaction, there are other 
potent considerations which contribute to its strength. His 
soul has felt, it still feels, the love of Christ constraining 
him to labor in his Master's vineyard : he sees a world in 
ruin, the Church laboring for the world's salvation : he hears 
his "Captain's" voice calling the sons of the Church to 
valorous deeds, and the shouts of victory as they rise from 
the lips of the sacramental host, in swelling tones, to heaven ! 
His soul is moved within him, and he frowns from his pres- 
ence the laggard spirit ! How can such a man consent to be 
"laid aside" as a useless thing? How can such a soldier 
consent to put his armor by, and cease to fight the battles of 
the Lord, while a vestige of strength remains ? Even the 
meek spirit of William M. Kennedy found the ordeal diffi- 
cult to pass, yet he passed it gracefully. He calmly bowed 
to Heaven's behest. He labored, however, after his super- 
annuation as much as he could — perhaps more than prudence 
would have dictated. And when urged to moderate his exer- 
tions, he would mildly reply, "It is better to wear out than 
to rust out. I wish the messenger of death to find me at my 
Master's work." Here is fidelity! Here is zeal worthy of 
imitation ! And here is Christian manliness, which the final 
Judge will delight to honor ! 

It would be unreasonable to expect such a man to leave the 
stage of active ministerial life with indifierence. After his 
superannuation, he seemed more depressed in spirit than ever 
before, yet there was no scowl upon his brow, no angry emo- 
tion quivered upon his lips ; but, feeling implicit confidence 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 161 

in the judgment of liis brethren, and resignation to the will 
of God, lie retired gracefully from the platform of public ex- 
ertion, where he had performed his part so well. 

The action of the Church in his case seemed to harmonize 
completely with the providence of God — only a few months 
ensuing between his superannuation and death; as though 
God intended the way-worn pilgrim to have a little repose 
prior to his departure to his eternal home, in which he might 
set his house in order, and take leave of his friends below. 

After the close of Conference, he improved in health a 
little, but constantly affirmed that it would not last long. He 
felt that his work was nearly at an end. 

To witness the death of such a Christian minister would 
be a privilege indeed. We feel a desire rising in the heart 
to be in the chamber where he meets his fate, to see the 
manifestations of his patience in suffering, his meek submis- 
sion to the Divine will, his holy courage, as 

< 'Against the cross death's iron sceptre breaks ;" 

while his holy soul exclaims : " I am now ready to be of- 
fered" — "The time of my departure is at hand" — "O death, 
where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?" — 
" Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory, through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." But in his case the privilege was denied 
to all. His desire ''to be found doing his Master's work 
when the messenger of death should come" was granted. 
He was journeying in the service of the Church, in company 
with a friend or two. They had stopped for the night at the 
house of his friend. Dr. Moon, of I^ewberry District, S. C. 
!Next morning, he walked out early to make some arrange- 
ment for the journey of the day, when he was overcome by 

an apoplectic stroke, from which he never recovered even 
11 



162 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



strength, enougli to speak, but, in a moment, passed from the 
sorrows of earth to the joys of heaven. 

As in his life, so in Ms death, lie preached to others, both 
encouraging and warning them. Altliough lie was not per- 
mitted to leave a dying testimony in words, yet the Cburch. 
lias strong hope of liis salvation ; for, as in the case of St. 
Paul, so in liis, an appeal to "his manner of life" confirms 
his claim to a ripe experience of grace. Having obtained 
pardon in early life, be grew in grace as be advanced in 
years; and doubtless be possessed the blessing of "perfect 
love." His bereaved widow writes : "That he enjoyed this 
blessing I am quite sure. His daily, hourly walk and con- 
versation gave evidence of this, during my acquaintance vrith 
him. I do not know that I ever saw him ruffled in temper 
in the slightest degree. I have seen him under strong provo- 
cation, kind and persuasive, gentle in word and benignant in 
look, exert an indescribable influence over the unruly pas- 
sions of all who were brought within its reach." Again, she 
says : "Although he loved to dwell on the riches of God's 
goodness, he seldom spoke of his spiritual attainments. Yet, 
when first attacked (a few months before his death) with the 
disease which ultimately proved fatal, his spirit was calm, 
serene, submissive, full of joy, and unwavering in its trust in 
God. Aware that death lurked in the disease, he shi^ank 
not at its approach, but was ready to ' depart and be with 
Christ.' " 

He had enjoyed uninterrupted health through his whole 
life, not being confined to his bed a week at a time for thirty 
years. His preservation in the midst of exposure was a 
marked instance of God's providence in the preservation of 
his ministers. He was not, therefore, prepared by his former 
experience to pass the ordeal which God was preparing for 



WILLIAM M. KENNEDY. 



163 



him ; still, when the trial came, grace sustained him. During 
his first attack of the disease which terminated his life, he 
was visited by one of the preachers, who says : " "While he 
was suffering greatly, I inquired of him in reference to the 
state of his mind. He replied by alluding to his remarkable 
exemption from affliction through life, and then said : ' I 
have no doubt that I am now learning a lesson I would not 
have learned in any other way.' " 

Zealous in good works, full of faith and the Holy Ghost, 
he could not fail to pass safely the Jordan of death ; while, 
by the suddenness of his departure, he proclaims to all, " Be 
ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of 
man cometh." 

His body was brought to the city of Columbia for inter- 
ment ; and a neat slab, with an appropriate epitaph, has been 
placed over his sleeping dust. 

There is also in the Washington Street Church a cenotaph 
bearing the inscription copied on the following page. 

By the side of this cenotaph is another, erected by the 
same Conference, in honor of the Rev. Samuel Dunwody, 
one of its most gifted and useful members. These worthy 
ministers entered the Itinerant Connection at the same time, 
and labored in the same Conference more than the third of a 
century. As bold soldiers of the cross, they had won many 
a hard-fought battle ; and now, though they died at different 
times, and were buried at points distant from each other, still 
their voices speak from those monuments in the Church 
where they had alternately declared all the counsel of God, 



164 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



SACRED TO THE 
MEMORY OF THE 

REV. WILLIAM MEGEE KENNEDY, 
who was born in n. c, 
January 10th, 1783, 

AND DIED 

February 22, 1840. 
He was FOR 34 years a member of 
THE S. C. Conference, 

A FAITHFUL, SUCCESSFUL, AND 
DISTINGUISHED MINISTER 

OF THE Lord Jesus. 

He WAS THE INSTRUMENT OF TURNING 

many to righteousness ; 
while the eminent christian virtues 
of his character 
endeared him to a wide circle 

of admiring friends. 
His remains repose near this 
Church, in connection with which 
many years of his 
active life were spent. 
This marble is a monument of affection 
on the part of his brethren 
OF the South Carolina Conference. 



HEZEKIAH a. LEIGH. 



165 



HEZEKIAH a. LEIGH. 

BY THE REV. R. 0. BURTON. 

The Kev. Hezekiah Gilbert Leigli, D. D., of the ^Tortli 
Carolina Conference, was born in Perquimans county, I:^". C. 
His parents were Gilbert and Charlotte Leigh. His mother's 
name was Spruill. His parents were highly respectable, and 
many of his mother's relatives still live in his native State, 
occupying a high position in the confidence and esteem of its 
citizens. 

Dr. Leigh married Miss Mary J. Crump, of ITorthampton, 
E". C, and left four sons and three daughters at the close of 
his life. 

But little is known of his early life previously to his con- 
nection with the Conference. He unfortunately kept no 
journal, and has left nothing to enrich a sketch; and the 
Church is deprived of much valuable information which 
would have contributed to her guidance and edification. 
Few men have gone to the grave and to their reward pos- 
sessing more modest merit and mental power, or who wielded 
a more benign and wider infiuence for good than he. 

We learn that his parents were not members of any 
Church, and consequently he was deprived of that early re- 



166 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



ligious culture whicli true piety gives, and wliicli a holy 
example leaves to enricb. and bless the child. 

He was educated mainly by the Rev. Dr. Freeman, a worthy 
and intelligent minister of the Presbyterian Church. He re- 
ceived what is termed an academical education. From the 
son of Dr. Freeman we learn that he diligently applied him- 
self to his studies while at school in Murfreesboro', IsT. C, 
under the instruction of his estimable teacher. 

At the age of twenty-two, under the ministry of the E,ev. 
John Todd Brame, Senr., he was led to Christ, and was justi- 
fied 'through faith in his blood." He soon joined the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and his mind was turned to the 
Christian ministry. The next year after his conversion, he 
joined the Virginia Conference, then embracing chiefly the 
present Virginia and ITorth Carolina Conferences. Perhaps 
Dr. Leigh's bias in favor of the Church in which he lived, 
labored, and died, was given by the early and extensive in- 
fluence exerted by it throughout that part of JSTorth Carolina, 
as well as throughout the whole State. In no State in the 
Union has the influence of Methodism been more benign 
and beneficial than in IsTorth Carolina. Especially has its in- 
fluence been great in the lower part of the State. ISTeither 
heat nor malaria, sickness nor death, has deterred its minis- 
ters from seeking the lost sheep of the fold. Under the 
ministry of those men who labored there, and where now 
the Church of his choice spreads her green glories, the bless- 
ing and praise of the land, was he blessed. 

He rose rapidly in the esteem and confidence of the Con- 
ference of which he became a distinguished and leading 
member. When young, he was slender, with fair skin, a 
blue eye, dark hair, large nose, and a mouth expressive of 
great amiability and good -nature. Perhaps few men pos- 



HEZEKIAH a. LEIGH. 167 

sessed a voice of more compass and melody tlian Ms ; and 
those wlio have heard him will recur to the opportunities 
they have enjoyed of conversing with him, and of listening 
to him in the church and in the tented grove, when its notes 
swept the keys of their souls with unearthly sweetness and 
power. 

God had endowed him with great capabilities for useful- 
ness. He possessed a good constitution, and enjoyed as 
much health as most men, and was able to perform a great 
amount of labor in the study and in the pulpit. He pos- 
sessed a mind of very high order, which he labored to culti- 
vate ; keeping ever in view his high and holy calling, having 
early consecrated his life to God and the good of the world. 

Few men possessed a nobler soul than his. Early did he 
show that public spirit which is indispensable to moral great- 
ness. He enlisted in the service of the United States as a 
soldier during the war of 1812 ; and but for the declaration 
of peace, his great mind and soul might have spent their 
energies in fields of carnage red with gore, rather than in 
bearing the conditions of peace and pardon to the enemies 
of Jesus, where he won his fadeless honors. 

He was a sincere man — ''an Israelite indeed, in whom 
there was no guile." "Who that knew him well, does not 
remember his hatred of any thing that was low and in- 
triguing ? He loved truth, and during his whole life main- 
tained this character. His high regard for this virtue gave 
sometimes to his manner the appearance of bluntness, which 
may have offended those who were but partially acquainted 
with him. It was in this trait of his character chiefly rested 
his power for good, which he wielded over the minds and 
hearts of thousands in the States of ISTorth Carolina and 
Virginia, and erected a monument as imperishable as im- 



168 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



j 



mortality. In God's regard for trutli began that system of 
redeeming mercy which is instinct with life, and sheds the 
only light of hope on a fallen world. Here lies the power 
of the Christian minister to save souls. His soul loved the 
pure truth of God. On it he rested without fear, and his 
eye beamed, and his bosom dilated, while he spoke and 
thought of truth — God's truth, without "mixture of error." 
In entering on a work of so much difficulty and responsi- 
bility as the ministry of the cross, knowing the errors and 
prejudices of the fallen world, his soul exulted in the love 
and power of truth. He darted his eye along the track of 
an ever -evolving providence to the sure successes which 
God's promises hold forth to a good minister. "Were you the 
intimate friend of Dr. Leigh? Then you will remember, 
reader, he never betrayed your confidence or forsook you, 
either to promote his own ends, or because others disliked 
you. 

He possessed a soul full of love for his race, and in all the 
relations of life he wa^ kind, affectionate, and generous. I 
have never known a man more devoted to his family, and who 
manifested more tenderness and interest in his children as 
they grew up into life. He has no claims to the character of 
a noble and generous Christian man who fails to do his part 
to make his home joyous and his household happy. Here 
Dr. Leigh showed his kindness, and home was to him his 
Eden when his work abroad was done. It was his practice 
to take his sons on the District to develop their minds and 
hearts ; and when one grew large enough to go to school, he 
would carry the next ; and this system he pursued to the end 
of his days. The happy infiuence he exerted is seen in the 
sound moral principles of his children, and the promise of 
good they give to the world. 



HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH. 



169 



He was possessed of warm and strong sympatliies, and re- 
joiced in the promotion of his fellows and their success in 
doing good. Of an enemy he would take no advantage : to 
an enemy he would do justice. The helpless and depressed 
he was too noble to strike. Between himself and another 
distinguished minister there had been some alienation of 
feeling for a short time. In his presence, the conversation 
turned to the qualities of this minister's heart. Something 
was said in depreciation of him, when Dr. Leigh remarked : 
" You are mistaken. He will like you the better if you de- 
fend your position like a man while debating with him. He 
is an honorable man." A lover of X3eace related this con- 
versation to the absent one, and Dr. Leigh and he lived de- 
voted friends to the close of his life. 

He was as free from a censorious spirit and from the spirit 
of detraction and evil -speaking as any man I have ever 
known. That amiable minister, the Rev. John W. Childs, 
remarked, when representing Dr. Leigh in Conference as a 
Presiding Elder, under whom he had travelled that year : "I 
have never known a man more free from evil-speaking" — a 
high eulogy from that sainted man ! 

He possessed no spirit of self - promotion — the fruitful 
source of evil, strife, and discontent in the Church and the 
world. The writer of this sketch, who became acquainted 
with Dr. Leigh on entering the Conference, and lived in in- 
timate friendship with him till he died, knows how he feared 
lest he might be brought under the influence of ambition. 
The avaricious and ambitious are incapable of true friend- 
ship. The one will forsake us for gain ; the other for posi- 
tion. Dr. Leigh never labored to thrust himself in places to 
be conspicuous, or in posts the most responsible. He merged 
all considerations into the desire and purpose to be useful. 



170 



BIOGPtAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



With, wliat emphasis has he often said to me: ^'How plea- 
sant it is to live to clo good I" 

He possessed a strong will, and was inflexible in purpose 
to do his duty. He was a man of true courage and inde- 
pendence of character. He did not pause to inquire the 
shades of opinion, the prejudices, and the amount of outside 
pressure, before he formed his opinion, and acted. He 
looked at moral obligation as a pure-minded man; and 
Vvdth a vivid sense of his responsibility as a man and minis- 
ter, he met his difficulties v/ith firmness, bore trouble with 
fortitude, and spoke his sentiments with independence. He 
never vacillated in his course, nor shrank sensitively when 
human displeasure and danger conspired to darken with 
storm-clouds the voyage of life. 

Dr. Leigh was deeply pious, and carried with him an un- 
blemished character as a man and a Christian minister. 
Deeply impressed with the depravity and infirmity of human 
nature, he was a man who prayerfully rested in Jesus ; and 
the theme of his thoughts, and the delight of his soul, was 
"Jesus and him crucified." His faith in the atonement was 
strong and influential, securing to him abiding peace and 
power to do the will of God. 

It has been remarked before that the influence of Dr. 
Leigh was wide and potent for good. It was as a minister 
and public man that he shone so conspicuously amongst 
men. Grifted by nature with, a great mind, he labored to 
store it with divine truth, at the same time keeping his soul 
full of the love of Christ. 

He was a sound reasoner, eloquent, and in description 
often unequalled. He possessed the power to make great 
truths simple and plain to the masses. He was mainly a 
topical preacher, and elucidated a subject, and carried it 



HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH. 171 

liome to tlie hearts and consciences of liis hearers, with a 
power that often made men wail before him. 

His faith in Christ was great, and his confidence in God's 
word as an instrument to save men was as strong as that of 
any man I ever have known. He was full of faith and the 
Holy Ghost. ' ' Although Dr. Leigh was eloquent, yet he felt his 
success was dependent on Divine influence, and he claimed 
success because God has promised it. Doubtless, in the 
earlier part of his ministry, he had used the pen in prepara- 
tion and in improving his style ; but in the latter years his 
preparation was without the pen. Dr. Leigh did not confine 
his public teaching to a few choice subjects, yet he delighted 
to preach chiefly on the atonement of Jesus, and pressed 
home on the hearts of his audience the great doctrine of the 
witness of the Spirit. He was no one-idea man, and never 
had a hobby, or wore out the patience of his congregation 
by dwelling on one theme. He took a wide survey of Bible 
truth, saw the harmony of its parts, and admired and trusted 
in it as a system of salvation. In preparing for the pulpit, 
he closely studied with the Bible in his hand, collating the 
various parallel passages, and impressed them on his memory 
and hid them in his heart. "With his confidence in God's 
word and providence, his heart burned with zeal for the sal- 
vation of men. ]^o unholy love of human praise actuated 
him, but a pure desire to save souls. Occupying an enviable 
position in social life, respected and beloved by the good, 
numbering a vast multitude of friends, and enjoying worldly 
affluence and domestic peace, he went forth with the holy 
anointing resting on him, to open his spiritual vision and 
stir him up to feel and speak as one having authority from 
God. 

There was as much unction in his preaching as in that of any 



172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

man ttIio has labored witliiu our kuowledge. Perliaps many 
attacli too little importance to tliis qualification for success 
in Trinning souls. Human learning is important to aid tlie 
minister of tlie gospel to understand and teacli men the way 
of life ; but the influence of the Holy Spirit, to assure the 
minister of his justification and acceptance, and to make 
truth clear to him, and to open the ''blind eyes," is indis- 
pensable. Our ministers and people are rising in the scale 
of intelligence, and the day is gone Trhen calumny labors to 
poison the world against the Methodists on this ground. 
Colleges rise under the fostering care of the Church. Let us 
be careful lest the confidence in human learning and the 
polish of style lead us away from the source of our ^Dower 
for good. How fervently did this man of God implore the 
Divine aid, and how like a child did his great mind and 
heart rest in the promise, '' Lo, I am with you alway, even to 
the end of the world!" He knew "in whom he believed," 
and the doctrine of the witness of the Spirit found a most 
prominent place in his preaching. He preached what he 
knew to be true ; and knew that a system to make men 
happy must possess the power to satisfy the mind that the 
soul is in union with God. TTith this great truth the great 
"Wesley commenced his career to improve the piety of the 
Church of England; and our fathers, who sleep in hope, 
made this largely the burden of a ministry which, for effi- 
ciency in converting sinners, is without a parallel in the 
Church since the days of the apostles. 

Dr. Leigh was remarkable in that he was always ready to 
preach with fervor and in the spirit of a revivalist ; and he 
has been called up from his couch when weary, and with 
great success has pressed home the gospel to his fellow-men. 

The atonement was his favorite theme. On the priesthood 



HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH. 173 

of Clirist, and indeed on all his offices, lie had no superior 
as a preacher. He preached ^'Christ crucified." With 
graphic power and pathos did he describe that hour when 
the Saviour of men hung in sweat and agony on the cross. 
It was while he preached on these great subjects he showed 
himself the great pulpit orator and ambassador for Jesus. 
Often has the writer of this sketch listened to him when vast 
crowds at camp -meetings now trembled, now wailed, now 
shouted, while his great mind grasped and explained the 
way of life, and his heart swelled with joy along the track 
of truth. There he stood, glowing with love, his eye beam- 
ing with emotion, deeply moved, and yet so self-poised as to 
sway the vast multitudes who wept and rejoiced under his 
powerful preaching. He felt and preached that " now is the 
day of salvation;" and while his sermons would live in the 
memory of his hearers, he expected present effects. 

The first time we ever heard Dr. Leigh was when a youth, 
near the mountains of Virginia. He was then in the full 
tide of his popularity, and stood forth one of the most effect- 
ive preachers in the Church. [N'ever shall I forget the im- 
pressions of that occasion. Then commenced a friendship 
with him, and veneration for him, that was cherished till 
death removed this holy man to his reward and rest. 

Dr. Leigh was eminently successful in awakening sinners, 
and in leading them to the cross. I am persuaded that I saw 
sixty persons converted as the fruit of one discourse. On 
the District, or Station, or Circuit, he labored to convert men. 
He would labor in the pulpit and among the penitents, pray- 
ing for them, singing and rejoicing with them. Like a good 
minister that loved souls and the Church with a consuming 
zeal, he led the sacramental host, and showed himself worthy 
of the confidence the Church reposed in him. The writer 



174 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



lias known no man wlio lias been more successful in winning 
souls than lie. 

In the borough of ]^orfolk, where he was stationed, and in 
Petersburg, he left the impress of his mind, and an influence 
that will last through time. Perhaps in no place was Dr. 
Leigh more useful than in the city of Petersburg; and much 
of the strong and happy influence which Methodism now 
exerts over the popular mind in that city may be traced to 
the successful labors of Dr. Leigh. 

He enjoyed the confidence of the Church in his purity and 
wisdom during his ministerial life. He was elected to every 
General Conference after he was eligible, and was a member 
of the Louisville Convention at the oro^anization of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In the question which 
divided the Church, he stood firmly with the South, believing 
his views were scriptural and sound. In this conviction he 
lived and died. 

The most of his ministerial life was spent in the service of 
the Church as a Presidio g Elder in the States of Virginia 
and Xorth Carolina — an office to which he was, by the purity 
of his character, soundness of his judgment, his love for 
Methodism, and his great talents as a preacher, eminently 
qualified. The Districts were large and laborious, and con- 
sequently he had but little opportunity to use his pen to 
transmit to posterity the matured thoughts with which he 
had benefited so many of his race. 

Dr. Leigh was a wise administrator of discipline, and al- 
ways discountenanced those hasty, severe, and ill-advised 
measures by which men were expelled from the Church, and 
generally lost for ever ! "With him, expulsion was the last 
resort. He tried, and taught his preachers to try, every other 
means first. How often has religion been prejudiced in the 



HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH. 1T5 

minds of men by want of wisdom here ! Frequently liave 
we heard him give instances in which kind pastoral entreaty, 
and admonition, and prayer, have, under the blessing of God, 
rescued the inebriate from sin, and brought back the back- 
slider to the communion of the Saviour and confidence of 
the Church. ^' Go," said he, "and see them, talk to them, 
and pray for them, and try to rescue them from sin !" 

He was a devoted lover of that form of religion called 
Methodism ; and yet he was no bigot, and avoided as far as 
possible all religious controversies. As often as I have heard 
him preach, I never heard him preach what was properly a 
controversial sermon. He was a lover of peace and a lover 
of good men. While he was clear in his convictions that 
the Church of his choice was constituted for good, and was 
adapted to meet the wants of the masses, yet he was not 
blind or indifferent to the piety and usefulness of others, and 
"rejoiced that Christ was preached." 

In this sphere, whither Providence had led him, and where 
he was so well known, and known to be honored, loved, and 
trusted, he employed his time, and engaged his thoughts, in 
endeavoring to elevate Methodism in the respect and con- 
fidence of the world, and prepare her the more efficiently to 
move in her great aggressive and conservative plan — aggres- 
sive against sin and error, conservative of piety and truth — 
to spread the truth and subdue the world to the peaceful 
reign of Jesus. He entered the Conference, and was a leader 
among his brethren, just when tlie Church needed such a 
man — a man not behind the age nor ahead of it, but with it, 
of it. 

With a soul full of public spirit, deeply devoted to the 
Church, impressed with the power of human learning, and 
the want of it even for present and more extended useful- 



176 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



ness, knowing tliat sanctified learning is tlie great break- 
water against infidelity and error, and that tlie ministry and 
Church must improve in order that the masses might have 
pious and intelligent teachers to save the Church from im- 
becility, and to prevent the people from rushing into fanati- 
cism or infidelity, as into a maelstrom, he conceived the plan 
of elevating the standard of ministerial qualification, and 
projected a scheme for the establishment of a college of 
highest grade, that Methodism and her friends might enjoy 
an advantage so desirable in a free country. 'Not a few ap- 
prehended evil in this, knowing that in the past many had 
thrust themselves into the pulpit destitute of moral qualifica- 
tion for the ministry. " But," said Dr. Leigh, it is time, high 
time, our Church had moved in this great cause." He was 
stationed in Petersburg, Va., at the time when the establish- 
ment of a college was first suggested. Mr. Gr. P. Disosway, 
now of I^ew York, was then an official member in the sta- 
tion, and an ardent friend of the object, and presented to 
the Quarterly Conference a resolution expressing a conviction 
that the Church needed a college to prepare her the better to 
promote the great interests Cod in his providence has in- 
trusted to her. This was passed unanimously, and Dr. Leigh 
was instructed to prepare a letter calling attention to the im- 
portance of collegiate education in our Connection. This 
letter was published, and was widely circulated; and soon 
the Virginia Conference, then embracing most of the present 
IN'orth Carolina Conferenco, sanctioned the enterprise, which 
has contributed so much to advance the best interests of 
the Church in the establishment of Randolph Macon Col- 
lege. "While the Church had been sleeping over this great 
subject, and was allowing her infiuence to be daily jeo- 
parded, or to glide away as the moving waters. Dr. Leigh 



! 



HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, 177 

was awake and actively alive to tliis interest of the Church ^ 
and country. His sagacious and far-reaching mind saw that | 
a vast influence for good would be secured, and a cumulative \ 
power would come up through future years to arm the | 
better the Church of his choice, youth, and manhood, to i 
contend in the coming conflict with popery, infidelity, and ; 
sin. He was truly one of the pioneers, and perhaps the 
principal one, in the cause of a sanctified learning in the 
Methodist Episcopal Chu.rch. He devoted several years of 
his life as one of the first agents of Randolph Macon College, ; 
and contributed in no small measure to the raising of the ! 
funds necessary to the establishment of this institution, \ 
which has doubtless done more than any other belonging 
to the Church to interest the masses and develop the in- 
tellectual wealth of the Church. He lived and died the de- 
voted friend of this institution, the establishment of which 
his mind conceived, and which his labors, and prayers, and 
influence, promoted and preserved. He who lived in those 
days when the plan was projected, and a little subsequently, 
and is still a looker-on as the Church moves forward to fulfil 
her destiny, feels grateful to God and this friend of the 
Church while he contrasts the prosperous present with the 
past. Abounding in numbers, great in influence, the Church 
shows her intellectual wealth, both in the South and in the \ 
i^orth. This movement in the Virginia Conference by one | 
of Carolina's noblest sons was soon followed by the estab- j 
lishment of colleges in other States ; and the influence set j 
in motion has gone on as a wave encircling and covering the 

whole Church. 1 

I 

In the cause of female education Dr. Leigh was also fore- ] 
most, and was one of the committee appointed in the Yir- ] 

ginia Conference to establish the Greensboro' Female Col- j 

12 I 

? 
1 

1 
I 



178 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



lege at Greensboro', IsT. C, whicli was tlie first institution of 
that grade in tlie Cliurcli, IsTortli or Soutli. 

God lias blessed and owned tlie labors of tbis servant of 
liis and bis coadjutors ; and now, by fidelity to tbe plans and 
contracts of tbe past, looking steadily to tbe advancement 
in learning and piety of tbe vast numbers committed to us, 
tbe beart of tbe good and patriotic swells witb gratitude to 
tbe ^'Autbor of all good," and bope looks to tbe coming 
future as still brigbtening at morn, radiant at noon, and 
gorgeous in tbe glory of a sunset tbat terminates tbe days 
of tbe world and tbe destiny of Metbodism. Tbese are 
monuments to tbe memory of our friend as imperisbable as 
immortality. 

For several years previous to bis deatb. Dr. Leigb's bealtb 
bad been gradually declining, and bis labors were confined to 
narrower bounds tban tbose of a Presiding Elder's District. 
It improved somewbat, and be was tbe second time ap- 
pointed as Presiding Elder to tbe Raleigb District, wbicb 
was tbe last appointment be received from tbe Cburcb. 
Here be sbowed bis wonted zeal and fervent love for tbe 
souls of men. He preacbed witb unusual patbos and ten- 
derness; and tbe Holy Spirit, by bis subduing iiifiuences, 
was evidently fitting bim for tbe cbange tbat was soon 
to pass over tbis good minister. In great feebleness and 
emaciation, be was enabled to attend tbe last annual Con- 
ference at Louisburg, i^T. C, in 1852, over wbicb tbe lam^ented 
Bisbop Capers presided. He sat witb tbe Bisbop and Presid- 
ing Elders a sbort time, and returned bome too feeble to 
labor, and never met bis bretbren again at Conference. 
Gradually bis strength succumbed, until tbe 18tb of Septem- 
ber, 1853, wben bis ''tent a ruin lay." 

Dr. "William A. Smith, President of Eandolph Macon Col- 



HEZEKIAH a. LEIGH. 



179 



lege, in Ms sermon on tlie death of Dr. Leigli, gives tlie fol- 
lowing account of Hs last hours : 

Our interviews at different periods of his affliction 
were frequent, and the conversation usually turned upon 
distinctive views of Christian experience. The topics which 
interested him most were the faith of assurance inspired hy 
the Holy Spirit ; the rich comfort it afforded him as he drew 
near the Jordan of death ; the bright and glowing light it 
threw over its otherwise dark valley ; the glory that awaited 
the children of God; the curious and interesting inquiries 
which would be answered in the spiritual state; the diffi- 
culties in both mental and moral nature which would be 
solved ; and the glorious advance of mind along the illimita- 
ble fields of infinite knowledge, developing at every step of 
the vast progression the amazing wonders of Beity, filling 
the ever -increasing capacities of the immortal spirit with 
that large measure of heavenly joy which the eternal 
Fountain of light and love could alone supply. At the 
period when it was supposed that he was within a few hours 
of his dissolution, I spent some time with him. The con- 
versation turning upon his state and prospects, he dwelt 
with peculiar interest on the rich comfort afforded him by 
the great Bible truth we have just discussed ; and though he 
felt confident of a safe trust in Christ, a sweet assurance of 
acceptance, there seemed to open to his view so bright and 
glowing a prospect of the truths yet to be realized, that he 
grew eloquent in describing them, and was so lost in a 
vision of the attainments yet to be made in fields of know- 
ledge and comfort provided by the love of Christ, that he 
narrowed down by comparison the attainments already made 
to a point so contemptible in his own eyes as to cause him 
to loathe himself, and exclaim: ^0, if there were not a 



180 BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

Daysman betwixt Glod and me, how could I stand lais search- 
ing eye ! Thank God — bless God for such a Saviour !' The 
day before his death I visited him, and found him fast sink- 
ing. Just before leaving, as it was not deemed proper to 
fatigue him by conversation, I sought only to inquire, 
'Watchman, what of the night?' He turned his fading 
eye upon me, and with a smile of triumph playing on his 
countenance, he softly said, in reply to my inquiry if he still 
felt that his trust was in his Saviour, ' 0 yes : what should I 
do without that ? Jesus is with me. My .trust is in him 
alone!' " 

So passed away "a prince among pulpit men," after hav- 
ing devoted his great influence for thirty-five years to pro- 
mote the happiness of his race and elevate them to the 
dignity and glory contemplated in the gospel of Jesus. His 
influence still lives in the Church, and will last, preserved of 
God, when his contemporaries sleep by his side. 

If the formation of a noble Christian character is the great 
end of life, then Dr. Leigh has gained it : if benevolence is 
the business of life, he performed his duty : if humility is 
the ornament of the servant of that Master who washed 
his disciples' feet," then he wore it: if success in saving 
souls is the richest reward the minister receives on earth, 
then he reaped it to an extent equalled by few : if to enter 
safely the harbor is the crowning desire of the mariner who 
has long contended with wind and wave on a stormy sea, 
then did he finish his voyage with joy, and "an abundant 
entrance was ministered unto him into the everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 

The pleasant and devoted friend, the fond husband and 
tender parent, the humble Christian, and the faithful ambas- 



HEZEKIAH a. LEIGH. 



181 



sador of Christ, has finished the work which God gave him 
to do. The memory of friends retains the recollections of his 
life, and their hearts embalm them for ever. 

" The pains of life are past, 

Labor and sorrow cease ; 
And life's long warfare closed at last, 

His soul is found in peace. 
Soldier of Christ, well done ! 

Praise be thy new employ ; 
And while eternal ages run. 

Rest in thy Saviour's joy." 

By vote of the IsTorth Carolina Conference, a tablet of 
marble has been placed within the walls of the chapel at 
Eandolph Macon College, bearing the inscription given on 
the next page. 



182 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



TO THE MEMORY OF THE 

REV. HEZEKIAH G. LEIGH, D. D. 
He was borx in Perquimans County, N. C, Nov. 23, 1795. 
Professed Conversion in 1817. 
Joined the Virginia Conference in 1818. 

In the division of the Conference of 1836, he became a member of the North 
Carolina Conference. 

He died in Mecklenburg county, Virginia, September 18, 1853, aged fifty-eight 
years. 

He was elected to every General Conference from 1824 to the time of his death: 
was a member of the Louisville Conyention, and Trustee of Randolph Macon 
College. 

He devoted the powers of his great mind to the service of the Church for 
thirty-five years, and was abundant in labors and success. He was the advocate 
of every measure to improve the literary and religious character of the Church. 
A lover of learning, he founded Randolph Macon College. 

Pure in character, profound in the knowledge of Divine truths, eloquent as a 
minister, fervent in zeal, eminent in usefulness, he lived beloved by the good, and 
died lamented by his brethren. 



this tablet 
has been erected to his memory 

BY HIS 

BRETHREN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CONTERENCE. 



VALENTINE COOK. 



183 



YALEITTIITE COOK. 

BY EDWARD STEVENSON, D. D. 

Valentine Cook, Jr., was born in tlie State of Pennsyl- 
vania, and brought up in Western Virginia. 

His father, Valentine Cook, Sr., was the son of John 
Hamilton Cook, of London, England, and was first-cousin to 
the renowned mariner of that name. When but six years 
of age, he had the misfortune to lose his father, and was 
taken by his mother, after her second marriage, to Amster- 
dam, Holland, where he received a pretty thorough English 
and German education. 

He came to this country before the American Revolution, 
and is said to have taken a very decided and active part in 
that memorable struggle for independence. He married in 
Pennsylvania, where he resided till after the close of the 
war. He then removed to Western Virginia, and perma- 
nently settled in the Greenbrier country, now Monroe 
county. Here he spent the residue of his days, esteemed 
and beloved by all as an intelligent, upright, and useful 
citizen. 

Valentine, Jr., was his fifth son, and at an early period in 
life gave indications of a strong and vigorous intellect. His 
opportunities for acquiring an education were of the most 



184 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

unpromising cliaracter. The schools in that hew and thinly- 
popnlated country were few and very imperfectly supplied 
with teachers. Young Cook, however, succeeded in obtain- 
ing the rudiments of a common English education, and was 
so far instructed in German as to be able to read, write, and 
speak the language with ease and fluency. His moral prin- 
ciples and habits were such as to attract the attention and 
command the admiration of all who knew him. 

During his early years, he was greatly devoted to hunting ; 
and at that day no country in the world, perhaps, presented 
superior advantages of the sort to Western Virginia. That 
vast mountain range abounded with wild game, from the 
buffalo down to the pheasant. Such was his fondness for 
this kind of sport, that every hour he could redeem from the 
labors of the farm and the recitations of the school-room 
was appropriated in this way. Being a first-rate marksman, 
and having at command a well-trained pack of hounds, he 
seldom returned from those hunting excursions without hav- 
ing his pack-horse well loaded with wild meats, skins, furs, 
etc. His delight in the chase was such that he sometimes 
wandered far away from the settlements, and was compelled 
to take up his lodging for the night beneath the moss-grown 
cliffs or lofty forests that overhung those mountain heights, 
and that, too, while yet these frontier settlements were occa- 
sionally invaded by ferocious savage men. 

But in the midst of all his juvenile sports and adventures, 
he never lost sight of the improvement of his mind. Hence, 
a portion of his time was devoted to reading and study. His 
library, though small, contained one very valuable book ; and 
fortunately for him, in that book he was greatly delighted : 
it was the Bible. He read it with much interest and prayer- 
ful attention. Such was his fondness for the inspired records 



I 



VALENTINE COOK. 185 

tliat liis mind became thorouglily imbued witb their sacred 
teachings, thougli lie was but a stripling. When far ad- 
vanced in life, be could repeat chapter after chapter with \ 
the utmost facility, and always appeared to take great delight ; 
in letting his brethren and friends know that he had memo- ^ 
rized these portions of Scripture long before he embraced 
religion ; and in some instances, as he was in the habit of 
saying, he could not recollect the time when he was not able \ 
to repeat them. Of him, it may in truth be said, that from a ] 
child he knew the Holy Scriptures. It was from the careful' \ 
and constant perusal of the Bible that his heart became so j 
deeply impressed, even in his boyhood, with the importance j 
of an early and unreserved consecration of himself to God 
and his cause. ; 

His parents had been careful to teach him all they knew j 

of religion, which at that time was very little. He, how- ; 

ever, clearly saw and deeply deplored his lost condition as a ; 
depraved and guilty sinner. His parents, ignorant of the 

new birth, and strangers to the pardoning mercy of Grod, \ 

were disposed to mock at his tears and laugh at the frequency j 

and fervency of his prayers. But nothing moved by these I 

parental jeerings, he held on to the plainly-revealed promises \ 

of God, earnestly looking and anxiously groaning for de- \ 
liverance. He felt himself to be a guilty, polluted sinner, 

and as such exposed to the righteous wrath of a sin-avenging | 

God, with no way of escape but through the intervention i 

and sacrificial death of Christ. To him he looked in earnest \ 

prayer by day and night. j 

About this time a Methodist preacher was sent out to \ 

that newly -settled region of country. He proclaimed the • 

i 

fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ to the people j 

in the demonstration of the Spirit and in power. A state of ] 



186 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



general excitement was soon waked up in tlie community. 
Some openly opposed, others were indifferent, while a few 
were found willing to approve and advocate his new doc- 
trine. Young Cook, with others, was soon rallied beneath 
his standard, and in a little time found it necessary to be- 
come the defender of this new religion and its votaries. 
The opposition with which he had hitherto been called to 
contend was merely nominal, but now his parents, in good 
earnest, began to protest and even threaten, while his former 
companions and associates did every thing in their power to 
annoy and irritate his feelings. To all this, however, he sub- 
mitted with becoming forbearance, while at the same time 
he defended himself and the cause of Methodism with so 
much ability and kindness of spirit as soon to confound and 
silence opponents and persecutors. His father now so far 
yielded the point as to assure him that while he did not be- 
lieve in religion according to his notions, he would interpose 
no further obstacles to his believing and acting in the matter 
as he might think proper and right. 

During this period of his religious experience he became 
greatly discouraged. He had earnestly sought a direct as- 
surance of his acceptance with Grod ; but not having realized 
the object of his desire, he was sorely tempted to give up the 
struggle, and rest his hope of heaven on doing justly, 
loving mercy, and walking humbly with God." Still the 
great and precious promises of the gospel, with the many 
clear and striking delineations of Christian experience and 
character, found upon record in the Epistles, induced him 
at length to abandon his doubts and fears, and to renew his 
efforts for the direct witness of his adoption into the family 
of God. 

This painful conflict was continued for months. Per- 



J 



■ VALENTINE COOK. 187 

plexed and bewildered, like one lost in a trackless desert, lie 
knew not wMcli way to direct his steps. 

About this time, he was impressed with a solemn sense of 
the lost condition of his father's family, and the obligation 
he was under to make some efforts in order to effect their 
salvation. In connection with an elder brother, he was ulti- 
mately induced to propose the establishment of family- 
worship in his father's house. The subject was submitted 
to the old gentleman, who, to their great gratification, readily 
assented, and promised to assist them in the attempt. From 
that time to the day of his death, the residence of Valentine 
Cook, Sr., was known and recognized by all as a " house of 
prayer." The old gentleman and lady, with most of the 
family and some of the neighbors, were soon brought to the 
knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. 

The gifts and graces of Valentine, Jr., were thus brought 
into requisition, and were so developed in the course of a 
few months as to satisfy the people that God had a great 
work for him to do. His father especially, convinced of his 
extraordinary endowments, and of his singularly pious and 
studious habits, determined, if possible, to give him a col- 
legiate education. Cokesbury College had recently been 
established, and as it was a Methodist institution, applica- 
tion was made to Bishops Coke and Asbury for his ad- 
mission, which was readily granted. At what time he 
entered, and how long he remained at this institution, we 
have no means of ascertaining. That he made good progress 
while connected with the school was fully evinced in the 
subsequent history of his life and labors. The habits which 
he formed during his connection with Cokesbury College 
were never abandoned. He continued to prosecute his lite- 
rary, scientific, and theological studies amid all the changes 



188 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



and vicissitudes to wliicli lie was subjected throughout the 
whole period of his subsequent life. 

After leaving Cokesburj, which must have been in 1787, 
he returned to his father's in "Western Virginia, where his 
labors as an exhorter were greatly blessed. 

In 1788, he was received into the travelling ministry, and 
labored on different Circuits in Virginia, Maryland, and 
Pennsylvania, until 1793. In 1794 and 1795, he travelled on 
the Philadelphia District: in 1796 and 1797, he was ap- 
pointed to the Pittsburgh District : in 1798, he was sent as 
a missionary to Kentucky. During this year he was united 
by marriage to Miss Tabitha Slaughter, a niece of ex- 
Governor Slaughter of that State. 

His health having so far failed as to render it impracti- 
cable for him to do effective work on any of the large 
Circuits, or still larger Districts of that newly-settled coun- 
try, he located, in 1799, and was soon after induced to take 
charge of the Bethel Seminary, situated in Jessamine county, 
Ky. This was the second, as Cokesbury had been the first, 
institution of learning established by the Methodist Church 
in America. Mr. Cook continued at this school but a few 
years, owing principally to a feeling of opposition that had 
been very improperly awakened in the Church against the 
institution, and which he found it impossible to overcome. 

He subsequently removed to Harrodsburg, in the same 
State, where he continued for some time as principal of a 
respectable academy. 

He finally removed to Logan county, Ky., where he per- 
manently settled his rapidly increasing family on a small 
farm some three miles north of Eussellville. Here he re- 
mained to the day of his death, teaching sometimes in town 
and at other times in his own immediate neighborhood. In 



VALENTINE COOK. 



189 



all tliese different positions and relations, lie shared to the 
fullest possible extent the respect and confidence of the 
people, as an able, devoted, and self-sacrificing minister of 
the gospel; while as a teacher he was regarded by all as 
among the most competent and successful in the country. 
He had the honor of numbering among his pupils some who 
have subsequently been distinguished as eminent physicians; 
lawyers, and statesmen. 

But the preaching of the gospel, as the iustrument or- 
dained of God for the accomplishment of human salvation, 
was his one great work. However he may have been em- 
ployed, whether at the handles of his plough, in the school- 
room, at his workshop, or presiding over the interests of a 
college, the winning of souls to Christ by the proclamation 
of his truth was the all-absorbing theme of his meditations, 
the great cardinal object to which his thoughts and efforts 
were constantly directed. At all times, and in every place, 
he was ready to preach Jesus and him crucified. By day 
and by night, during the week as well as on the holy Sab- 
bath, he was ever ready to proclaim the glad tidings of sal- 
vation to a perishing world. To him the place was nothing. 
Wherever the people were assembled and willing to hear — 
whether in the church, the court-house, the school-room, or 
the market-place, in the palaces of the rich or the hovels 
of the poor, to the slaves in their quarters or the vast mul- 
titudes on the camp-ground, he was never found unprepared 
to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. ISTo ordinary 
circumstances could prevent the full and faithful discharge 
of his duty in this respect. His movements were never 
affected by the inclemency of the season. Through summer's 
heat and winter's cold, amid falling rains and driving snows, 
he was always at his appointments, holding forth in strains 



190 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



of melting sweetness tlie gospel of the grace of God. The 
conversion of sinners, whether rich or poor, learned or illite- 
rate, bond or free, was the all -engrossing subject of his 
thoughts and the all-controlling intent of his life. His word, 
whether in the pulpit, the class-room, the prayer-meeting, or 
the social circle, at all times and in every place, was quick 
and powerful, " sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing 
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
joints and marrow." Wherever his lot was cast, he was the 
instrument of bringing many to the knowledge of the truth. 
Through his influence the ignorant were enlightened, the un- 
believing convinced, the careless awakened, and weeping 
penitents pointed to the Lamb of G-od that taketh away the 
sin of the world. Like his blessed Master, he was constantly 
going about doing good. The ministry and membership of 
the Church everywhere felt the potency of his example, and 
in many instances were led to put on the armor anew for the 
battle. Prayer -meetings were established, classes revived, 
societies raised up, and new churches organized, wherever 
his labors were employed or his influence felt. There are 
hundreds, and perhaps thousands, still living throughout the 
great West, who, under God, are indebted to the instrument- 
ality of Valentine Cook for all their hopes of immortality and 
eternal life. 

We will not be surprised at this when it is recollected 
that few men ever read the Holy Scriptures with so much 
prayerful solicitude to understand and practice and proclaim 
the whole counsel of God to men. The Bible was his con- 
stant companion, at home and abroad, in public and in 
private. Other books he read, as opportunity served and as 
occasions required, but the Bible he read every day. Whether 
found in his private study, the school-room, the field, or the 



VALENTINE COOK. 



191 



forest, lie always had tlie precious volume at command. He 
was often observed poring over its sacred pages wlien tra- 
velling on horseback, as well as on foot. So thoroughly was 
he posted in the teaching of the inspired penmen that no 
passage could be called for that he was not able to repeat, or 
to which he could not turn in a few moments. Of him it 
may in truth be said, he was mighty in the Scriptures. In 
the pulpit, he usually announced the book, chapter, and verse 
of his quotations ; and when he deemed it necessary, as he 
sometimes did, for the establishment of an important posi- 
tion, it was truly astonishing with what facility he could call 
up his proofs from all the different parts of the inspired 
volume. 

Among the causes of his great success in the work of the 
ministry, the plainness of his style and the simplicity of his 
manner should not be overlooked. 'No one ever complained 
of not being able to understand him. When discussing " the 
deep things of God," his positions w^ere always so clearly 
stated, and so fully and appropriately sustained and illus- 
trated, tlmt the unlettered African found as little difficulty in 
comprehending his meaning as the most thoroughly edu- 
cated. The principal ground of complaint among unbeliev- 
ing, impenitent sinners, and cold-hearted, worldly-minded 
professors was, that they understood him too well for their 
comfort and quietude. A wicked man once remarked that 

he could listen to the Eev. Mr. all day and sleep soundly 

all the following night ; but added, " I never get a comfortable 
night's rest for at least a month after hearing Father Cook 
preach one sermon. He always says something that I can't 
forget." 

At a camp-meeting held in Southern Kentucky, while Mr. 
Cook was preaching on these words, " Because there is wrath, 



192 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



beware lest he take tliee away witli his stroke ; then a great 
ransom cannot deliver thee," a gentleman arose in the con- 
gregation and exclaimed, under great excitement, " Stop ! 
stop! till I can get out of this place!" Mr. Cook imme- 
diately paused, and said, "Let us pray for that man." The 
gentleman started from his place, but just as he reached the 
outskirts of the assembly, he sunk to the earth, and began 
to cry aloud for mercy. 

Valentine Cook literally preached the gospel with the Holy 
Ghost sent down from heaven, and with so much sincerity, 
affection, and tenderness, as not only to arrest and fix the 
attention, but to carry the truth directly home to the hearts 
of his hearers. Though deeply read in the arts and sciences, 
and possessing as intimate a knowledge of the original lan- 
guages as any man of his day, he made no unnecessary dis- 
play of his learning ; and, except in controversy, was seldom 
ever known to recite the original in the pulpit. In the eluci- 
dation and enforcement of his subjects, he sometimes alluded 
to science, philosophy, and history, and in fact to every thing 
within the range of his knowledge. This, however, he al- 
ways did in a manner so perfectly plain and simple that the 
most ignorant and unlearned could not possibly fail to under- 
stand his meaning. He studiously avoided metaphysical 
discussions. His subjects were always strictly evangelical, 
and generally well adapted to the occasions. In their dis- 
cussion, the important points were generally illustrated and 
enforced with such well-known facts and familiar circum- 
stances as to make a deep and lasting impression on the 
minds of his hearers. 

Mr. Cook was not what has been usually considered a 
methodical preacher. He seldom entered on a labored argu- 
ment; but then he so seized on the great fundamental 



VALENTINE COOK. 



193 



features of the Christian system, and discussed them in a 
manner so very original, and with a spirit so truly evan- 
gelical, as to make a most salutary impression on the vast 
crowds that everywhere attended his ministry. Such was 
his extraordinary manner in communicating the truth to the 
minds of his hearers, that of the thousands still living who 
may have occasionally heard him preach, not one perhaps 
can be found that does not retain a lively recollection of 
much that fell from his lips. "We have conversed with many 
who, though they never heard him but once, could call up the 
leading positions of his sermon, as well as the principal facts 
and incidents by which they were enforced. With a mind so 
fully stored with revealed truth, a heart so deeply imbued 
with the Holy Spii^it, so filled with the love of souls, so free 
from all self-dependence, and withal so strengthened, sus- 
tained, and comforted by the power of a living faith — a faith 
that knew not to stagger at the promises of God — no one 
need be astonished at the almost miraculous results that 
everywhere crowned his labors. 

But in addition to his intimate acquaintance with the Holy 
Scriptures, the plainness and simplicity of his style and 
manner, it should be recollected that he was preeminently a 
man of prayer. The habit of praying in secret three times 
a day, which he formed at an early period of his Christian 
course, was never abandoned or even modified. On occa- 
sions of special interest, his whole heart, as well as his whole 
time, was almost exclusively given up to prayer. In his 
mighty wrestlings with Grod, he appears generally to have 
prevailed. The following, in substance, was received by the 
writer from the lips of his bereaved widow a few months 
subsequent to his death. Soon after our settlement in 

that neighborhood," she said, "there being no Methodist 
13 



194 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



society near us, mj liusband said to me one evening, as we 
were sitting beneath some forest trees that stood in the yard, 
* My dear, what do you think of our having a meeting-house 
in that grove ?' I remarked that there was but little prospect 
of such an occurrence. 'Well,' said he, ' I have been pray- 
ing for direction on the subject for some time, and I have 
become strongly impressed with the belief that if we were 
to appoint a camp-meeting out there in the grove, our neigh- 
bors and friends from a distance would help us to support it ; 
and I am fully satisfied that the result would be the con- 
version of a sufficient number of the people to form a good 
society and build a comfortable house of worship ;' and after 
a little pause, he added, ' I think we must make the attempt.' 
I knew him so well, and had so seldom known any of his 
plans for doing good to fail, that I readily assented. The 
meeting was accordingly appointed — the neighbors cheerfully 
assisted in sustaining it — many were awakened and con- 
verted — a fine society was organized ; and that meeting- 
house," pointing to a respectable hewed-log church that 
stood on a little elevation some two or three hundred yards 
from the family residence, "was soon erected." 

Another instance of his faith and power with God in 
prayer was received at the same time and from the same 

source. At one time, she said, their class -leader, T 

Gr , was taken very ill. Her husband was with him most 

of the time, and was greatly interested on his account. The 
case at length was pronounced hopeless by his physicians. 
Mr. Cook coming into the room when it was supposed the 
sick man was actually djdng, approached his bed and said to 

him in a distinct tone of voice, "Brother Gr , do you 

know me?" "0 yes," was the reply. "Do you desire," 
said he, "that we continue to pray for your recovery?" "I 



VALENTINE COOK. 195 

leave tliat," said tlie afflicted man, " to you and tliem." He 
then walked into the room where the physicians were in con- 
sultation. ""What," said he, "is the conclusion? Must 

Brother G die at this time?" "He must, without the 

intervention of Almighty power," was the reply. "Well 
then," said Mr. Cook, "I'll go to Him in whose hands are 
the issues of life and death. I shall file two pleas for his 
restoration : the one on behalf of his family, and the other 
on account of the Church." He then retired to the woods. 
In less than an hour he returned, and was told that there 
was no change for the better. He again retired, and did not 
return till some time after dark. When he entered the sick 

man's room, he exclaimed, "Brother G , the Lord has 

heard our prayers : your life will be prolonged, for the sake 
of the Church and your family." He immediately left for 
home, declining to exchange a word with any as he retired. 

In less than a week. Brother G- was walking about his 

room, and is living to this day, though evidently on the 
margin of eternity. 

That Valentine Cook had great power with God in prayer 
will not be denied by any who ever knew him. He very 
seldom entered the pulpit without having previously retired 
to some secret place for the renewal of his commission and 
the strengthening of his faith. On many occasions his 
brethren and friends had to hunt him up and bring him from 
his knees to the sacred desk. He was so thoroughly con- 
vinced that without the agency of the Holy Spirit no merely 
human preparation could suffice for the successful proclama- 
tion of the gospel, that he was never willing to enter the 
sacred place without a conscious sense of the Divine presence. 
The matter of his sermons was always good, strictly evan- 
gelical, sufficiently varied, and abundant. His word was 



196 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



generally accompanied by tlie demonstrative power of tlie 
Holy Spirit. He liad no confidence whatever in " the arm 
of flesh.:" his sufficiency was all of God. There must have 
been something very remarkable in his manner of preaching. 
The truth as delivered by him was most generally so im- 
printed on the minds of his hearers as never to be forgotten. 
The writer now has in his possession a number of letters ad- 
dressed to his youngest daughter, Mrs. Susan Beaumont, 
when she was making an effi)rt to collect materials for a life 
of her father, many of which were written by individuals 
who never heard that great and good man but once or twice. 
Such was the impression made on their minds, that, with 
scarce an exception, they give as full and circumstantial an 
account of the discourses they heard as though they were 
giving a relation of something that had just taken place, 
whereas, in most cases, they were drawing upon then' memo- 
ries for near a quarter of a century. 

"We give the following as a sample of the whole. It is 
from the pen of a distinguished living minister: "When 
quite a youth," he says, "it w^as my privilege to attend an 
Annual Conference at JN'orvel's camp-ground. There I saw 
and heard, for the first and last time, the venerable Valentine 
Cook. The congregation was immense. His subject was 
the fall of Judas. He dwelt at some length on the mer- 
cenary motives by which he was actuated, his treachery, du- 
plicity, etc. JSTever shall I forget the dark and horrible 
picture which he drew of a faithless minister of the cross 
of Christ. All covered with guilt and shame, he held him 
up before his God and a congregated world ; and then, with 
a look that has never been effaced from my mind, he ex- 
claimed, in tones that seemed to startle the entire assembly, 
'It were better for that man that he had never been born !' 



VALENTINE COOK. 197 

The shock upon the members of the Conference was like 
that of an earthquake. Such was the effect upon my own 
young heart that I found myself involuntarily saying, ^I'll 
never be a preacher.' Turning from the dreadful doom of a 
Judas, at which my heart had shrunk back with horror, he 
soon brought our minds to rest on the more attractive ele- 
ments of ministerial character as developed in the lives and 
labors of the faithful. The portraiture of the great apostle 
of the Gentiles was evidently in his mind's eye. He pic- 
tured, as few could have done, the toils, privations, persecu- 
tions, and manifold afflictions of a truly Christian minister ; 
and then, in striking contrast, his countenance glowing as 
with celestial light, he sketched his triumphs, glanced at his 
final exit from these mortal shores, and followed him in his 
lofty flight to his endless home. The language of my heart 
was suddenly changed, and I found myself involuntarily say- 
ing, ' 0 that God would call me to be a preacher of the gospel !' 

"In the course of his remarks, he adverted to the great 
apostolic promise, ' Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end 
of the world.' He maintained that Christ would be with his 
faithful ministers at all times and in every place, to direct, 
sustain, and comfort. Here he paused, and wiping away the 
tears that fell like dewdrops from his face, he related the fol- 
lowing incident which occurred at an early period of his 
ministry. "When wending his way through the Alleghany 
Mountains at a late hour on Saturday evening, a lonely 
stranger, knowing and known of none, he began to reflect 
on his chances for the night and the approaching Sabbath. 
He had already been several times repulsed in his applica- 
tions. At length he saw a neat dwelling on the side of a 
neighboring mountain. He rode up, with but little hope of 
success. A well-dressed lady came to the door. In a sub- 



198 BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

dued tone of voice, lie inquired, ' Can yon accommodate a 
stranger for tlie niglit?' She looked at Mm for a moment, 
and said, ' Yes, and to-morrow too. Ton are the very man 
I saw in my dream last night.' 'Hallelujah !' exclaimed the 
old hero of the cross, 'I saw the hand of God in it all.' The 
Spirit of the Lord commenced the work that night. He 
preached to the people the next day : a glorious revival hroke 
out in the neighborhood : upwards of seventy souls were con- 
verted to Grod : a Methodist society was organized, and the 
whole settlement brought under the influence of the gospel 
before I left the place. "Well did he exclaim, as he brought 
that mighty effort to a close, ' Brethren, the Lord of hosts is 
with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge I' He took his seat 
amid the falling tears and ascending shouts of preachers and 
people. I shall never cease to be grateful for the privilege 
of having heard one sermon from such a mighty man of 
God." 

Valentine Cook had his peculiarities, and, we might add, 
his eccentricities also. Being almost constantly absorbed in 
thought, and withal having a mind so constituted that when 
directed to any particular subject he seemed to lose sight in 
a great measure of every thing else, he was generally re- 
garded as an absent-minded man. It was related of him 
that soon after his marriage his wife accompanied him to one 
of his appointments. After preaching an excellent sermon, 
he mounted his horse and rode back to the residence of his 
father-in-law, where they were then living. "When he entered 
the hall-door, Mrs. Slaughter very naturally asked him what 
had become of his wife. He was deeply mortified, and im- 
mediately started back in pursuit of her. TVhen they met, 
perceiving that her feelings were much wounded, he burst 
into tears, and made every explanation that the nature of the 



VALENTINE COOK. 



199 



case would admit — assuring her tliat for tlie future lie would 
try to do better, wliicli lie no doubt did ; but to little or no 
purpose : tlie like occurrences marked liis whole history, 
notwithstanding his oft-repeated efforts to divest himself of 
this liability. 

He was frequently known to leave his horse tied up in the 
woods, or safely housed in the stable of some friend where 
he had preached, and walk all the way home, never once 
thinking of his horse until interrogated on the subject by 
his wife or children. On one occasion, he started for an ap- 
pointment some six or eight miles from his residence. "When 
but a short distance from the chapel at which he was to 
preach, he turned aside into the barrens, as was his custom, 
for the purpose of spending a while in private devotion. On 
remounting his horse and returning to the road, he un- 
wittingly took the wrong course, and was jogging along 
towards home, humming a favorite tune, when met by some 
of his friends who were going to hear him preach. " Well, 
brethren," said the old gentleman very pleasantly, ''are you 
not going the wrong way?" They thought not. "We are 
going to Bibb's Chapel to hear you preach, and this is cer- 
tainly the right road." He appeared much astonished; but, 
yielding the point in dispute, he turned about and accom- 
panied them to the church, being much more inclined than 
any of the company to laugh at his blunder. 

Mr. Cook was remarkably fond of music, instrumental as 
well as vocal. He was a good singer himself, and wherever 
he went, encouraged the young people especially to learn to 
sing, never forgetting the apostolic injunction, ''with the 
spirit, and with the understanding also." He used to say 
that he never felt fully prepared for preaching until he heard 
a good, old-fashioned hymn, or evangelical song, well sung. 



200 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

While lie lived in the towns of Kentucky, lie would some- 
times sit for hours at his window by night, listening, with 
the most intense delight, to the soft and mellow strains of 
the flute and violin, or to the more shrill and piercing notes 
of the clarionet. When he resided in the vicinity of Eussell- 
ville, the young men of the town, knowing his fondness for 
music, were in the habit of giving him serenades at late 
hours of the night. On such occasions, they always received 
a cordial welcome, and were more than remunerated for their 
trouble by his fatherly counsels, which were usually given in 
a manner so very impressive as never to be erased from their 
memory. Incidents and anecdotes related by this venerable 
apostle of Methodism are still recited with peculiar interest 
by some who participated in those nocturnal visitations. But 
of Mr. Cook's peculiarities we have said enough, perhaps too 
much, although a volume might be filled with such matter. 

A short time previous to his death, he attended a camp- 
meeting, some eight or ten miles from home. As usual, he 
labored with great zeal and success. He preached on the 
Sabbath to a vast crowd, from these words : "For our light 
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
After a solemn and very impressive pause, he lifted his eyes 
to heaven, and said, "What! our afflictions work for us a 
weight of glory — a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory!" and added, "I believe it with all my heart, because 
thou, 0 God, hast revealed it in this blessed volume !" The 
effect upon the congregation is said to have been very re- 
markable, and the discourse throughout has been represented 
as among the most able and effective that he ever delivered. 
This was the last sermon he preached, as I was informed by 
his weeping widow a few months after his death. 



VALENTINE COOK. 201 

On liis return liome from tliis meeting, lie was violently 
attacked with bilious fever. His case from tlie first was con- 
sidered doubtful, and finally hopeless. Conscious of his 
approaching dissolution, he called his wife and children to 
his bedside, and after taking a last earthly leave, he com- 
mitted them, with great apparent confidence, to the guidance 
and protection of Almighty Goodness. When asked by one 
of his neighbors, a few moments before his death, how he 
felt, he answered, "I scarcely know;" and then added, 
""Wh.en I think of Jesus, and of living with him for ever, I 
am so filled with the love of God that I scarcely know 
whether I am in the body or out of the body." These were 
the last words that fell from his lips. He died as he had 
lived, strong in faith, giving glory to God. 

A few months after his death, in company with his discon- 
solate widow and a large group of fatherless children, I 
walked out from the family residence to the lovel}^ place 
where the mortal remains of that great man had been so 
recently deposited. "We stood and looked in silence at the 
honored spot. It was a solemn scene, too deeply affecting 
and too mournfully sacred for the utterance of a consoling 
word. I heard the heavy breathings of the mother's sad- 
dened heart, and saw the falling tears of her fatherless chil- 
dren as they stood around her. We retired, full of the faith 
that looks not at the things which are seen, but at the things 
which are not seen. I thought of the judgment-day, of the 
resurrection-morn, of the glory that awaits the faithful be- 
yond the shores of time. My recollections of that melan- 
choly visitation will never be obliterated from my mind. 

In conformity with his oft -repeated wishes, Father Cook 
was buried in the midst of a beautiful grove of young cedars 
near the centre of his little farm. To this day, no lofty 



202 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



column of enduring marble, nor even a rude stone from the 
surrounding Hlls, marks tlie place of Ms interment. The 
mighty dead need nothing of the sort to perpetuate their 
memory. Their monuments will be found in their deeds. 
The name of Valentine Cook is embalmed in the hearts of 
thousands who still live upon earth ; and will doubtless be 
revered through all the ages of eternity by vast multitudes 
who through his instrumentality were plucked as "brands 
from the burning." 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



203 



THOMAS LOQAiT DOUGLASS. 

BY J. B. M^FERIIIN, D. D. 

To trace tlie rise and progress of Cliristianity is a most 
interesting and delightful task. It never fails to impress tlie 
heart of the serious inquirer with the divinity of its origin 
and the constant supervising care of Him who said to his 
apostles, " Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the 
world." Inseparably connected with the history of the 
Church is the history of the ministry: the one necessarily 
involves the other. The ministry is an essential part of the 
Church ; indeed, in point of time, the institution of the min- 
istry preceded the organization of the Church. Moreover, 
the ministry gives tone and character to the Church. The 
Church is known by her ministers ; and the prosperity of the 
Church, under God, depends in a measure upon the piety, 
zeal, and fidelity of her chief ministers. 

'No Church organization in modern times, we judge, can 
boast of a more faithful, devoted, and self-sacrificing ministry 
than the Methodist Episcopal Church. The founders of 
Methodism were celebrated for their deep piety and entire 
consecration to God, as well as for their learning and talents ; 
and the first American preachers were never excelled in self- 
denial and apostolic zeal. And while we give due credit to 



204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

all who toil in the Master's vineyard, and appreciate tlie 
labors of tliose pioneers of Methodism who introduced the 
gospel in the ITorth or East, yet every one familiar with the 
history of the rise and progress of the Church in America 
will concede that those who bore the tidings of salvation to 
the wilds of the Mississippi Yalley were more abundant in 
labors and sacrifices than their brethren in other quarters. 
It is the glory of the Methodist Church that her ministers 
are always found on the frontiers. They build on no other 
man's foundation ; but, in the name of Christ, they go among 
the poor and the destitute, and raise the banner of the cross 
where the people would but for them sit in the region and 
shadow of death. 

In no portion of the South-west has Methodism been more 
successful than in Tennessee. Its membership is very large, 
and the number of its ministers great. It is the leading de- 
nomination in the State, to say nothing of the vast multi- 
tudes of Tennessee Methodists who have gone farther West. 
Perhaps no State in the Southern Connection has sent abroad 
as many ministers of the gospel as Tennessee. They are 
found in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, 
California, and among the Indian tribes ; in addition to 
scores who are laboring in other States and Territories. 
Why Methodism should have taken so deep root in the 
State, and have spread its influence so extensively, is worthy 
of inquiry. Were we called upon to solve the question, we 
should perhaps attribute the fact to two causes — keeping 
always in view its doctrines, which we regard as scriptural : 
the first is, the early introduction of Methodism in the new 
settlements; and, secondly, the zeal and ability of the 
pioneer preachers. 

E'o permanent settlements were made in Middle Tennessee 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



205 



till about the year 1780. A few adventurous men encamped 
on tlie Cumberland in the year 1779, and raised a crop of 
corn where Nashville now stands ; but not until 1780 did 
the colonists arrive. The first permanent colony was then 
planted in Tennessee, west of the Cumberland Mountains. 
And even then the few inhabitants had to protect themselves 
from ferocious savages by block-houses and other fortifica- 
tions. In this condition the colonists lived for several years ; 
consequently, the settlements were very few and difficult of 
access. E'evertheless, the love of Christ constrained the heart 
of the Methodist itinerant, and he was soon found in these 
fortifications preaching Christ and him crucified. 

By referring to the Annual Minutes, we find that in 1787 
Benjamin Ogden was appointed to Cumberland. His work 
embraced I^ashville and the few settlements then on the 
Cumberland river, extending perhaps into Kentucky. From 
the date of the Minutes, and the usual time of holding the 
Conference, we presume Mr. Ogden reached his new field of 
labor in the autumn of 1786. Of this, however, there is no 
positive proof. The result of this year's missionary work 
may be known in part by the statistics : the Minutes show 
the numbers in society on the Cumberland Circuit to be 
fifty-nine white and four colored members. This was the 
beginning of Methodism in Tennessee west of the mountains. 

Previous to this date, one or two Circuits had been formed 
in Upper East Tennessee, where societies had been organized, 
and a few hundred gathered into the Church. 

Mr. Ogden was a plain, strong, efiective preacher, and did 
much in planting Methodism in the Western wilds. He was 
much beloved by the people, a few of whom still remain, 
cherishing the memory of the venerable man. 

The Minutes of 1788 show that David Combs and Barnabas 



206 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



McHeniy were appointed to Cumberland. These were good 
and faitliful men, tlie latter of wliom grew to be a giant in 
moral and intellectual strength. They had a prosperous year, 
the returns showing the number to have increased to two 
hundred and twenty-five. 

From this small beginning, Methodism grew and increased 
in favor with the people, till " Cumberland" became a portion 
of a Presiding Elder's District in the "West. The first Dis- 
trict seems to have been formed in 1789, and consisted of the 
following charges, viz. : 

Lexington — James Haw, "Wilson Lee, and Stephen Brooks. 

Danville — Barnabas McHenry and Peter Massie. 

Cumberland — Thomas Williamson and Joshua Hartley. 

Francis Poythress was the Presiding Elder. 

In 1796, the General Conference divided the whole Con- 
nection into "six yearly Conferences," one of which was de- 
nominated " the Western Conference." It was " for the States 
of Kentucky and Tennessee : 2^^ovided, that the Bishops shall 
have authority to appoint other yearly Conferences in the in- 
terval of the G-eneral Conference, if a sufficiency of new 
Circuits be anywhere formed for that purpose." 

The first Western Conference met at Bethel School, Ky., 
May, 1797. It embraced two Districts, and seems to have 
taken one or two Circuits in South-western Virginia. The 
following we copy from the Minutes of that year : 

John Kobler, Presiding Elder. 

Francis Poythress, Supernumerary. 

Limestone — Aquila Jones. 

Hinkstone — John Page. 

Lexington — Benjamin Lakin. 

Danville — Jeremiah Lawson, Thomas Allen. 

Salt River — Henry Smith, Williams Kavanaugh. 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



20T 



Cumberland — Thomas Wilkerson, Obadiah Strange. 

Jonathan Bird, Presiding Elder. 

Green — John Buxton, Robert Wilkerson. 

Holston — William Burke, "William Duzan. 

Bussell — John Watson. 

Neio River — Joseph Dunn, 

The whole membership reported that year amounted in the 
Tennessee portion of the Western Conference to five hundred 
and thirty-four whites and forty-two colored. 

Within a few years after this date, the work revived greatly, 
and hundreds and thousands were added to the Church. The 
year 1800 was signally owned of God, and wonderful dis- 
plays of his power were seen among the people. In the 
meantime, the tide of emigration from the older States to 
the rich valleys of the West was greatly increased, and the 
cause of Christ kept pace with the population; so that by 
the year 1812 the Western Conference extended its borders 
so as to embrace Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Missouri, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Only a few points, 
indeed, of this vast country were occupied, because the set- 
tlements were sparse ; yet wherever the preachers could find 
an open door, they entered in, and began the good work of 
saving the souls of the people. 

The statistics show that the Western Conference at this 
period was composed of the following Districts, viz. : Hol- 
ston, Cumberland, ITashville, Wabash, Kentucky, Salt River, 
Mississippi, Illinois, Miami, and Muskingum. The member- 
ship numbered 29,093 whites and 1648 colored. 

Well may we exclaim. What had Grod wrought ! In about 
twenty-five years, a people that were no people had become a 
multitude. The wilderness and solitary place had been 
made to blossom as the rose, and springs of water had broken 



208 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



forth in tlie dry and tliirsty land. In this great valley that 
was inhabited by prowling beasts and savage men, where 
murder and cruelty had prevailed, the gospel of peace had 
been proclaimed, and more than thirty thousand lost sheep 
had been brought into the fold. 

The limits allowed for this brief sketch will not permit the 
writer even to name the many noble instruments employed 
in the glorious work, nor to recount the sufferings the^^ en- 
dured, the sacrifices they made, the labors they performed. 
Their record is on high, and most of them have gone to in- 
herit their rich reward. A few still linger on this side the 
stream, but they stand on the mountain-top, looking over 
into the promised land. Peaceful and triumphant be their 
exit ! 

We have said that the pioneers of Methodism in the West 
and South-west were of untiring zeal and great ability. In- 
deed, there were giants in those days. Many of their names 
are familiar: they are household words. The memory of 
Ogden, McHenry, Poythress, Lee, Birchett, Massie, Crane, 
McKendree, Blackman, "Walker, Wilkerson, Thompson, 
Burke, Gwin, and hundreds more, is a sweet savor to the 
Church. These all died in the faith, and are now sharing 
with Paul the crown of righteousness. 

The first delegated General Conference convened in Balti- 
more, May 1, 1812. Here the Western Conference was 
divided into two, the Tennessee and the Ohio Conferences. 
The Tennessee Conference held its first session at Fountain- 
head meeting-house, in Sumner county, E"ovember 1, 1812. 
The work, as appears on the Minutes for the next year en- 
suing, consisted of the following Presiding Elders' Districts, 
viz. : Holston, IsTashville, Cumberland, Wabash, and Mis- 
sissippi — the remainder of the Western Conference having 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



209 



been placed iu connection with tlie Oliio Conference. Em- 
braced in tbese five Districts there were fifty-one Circuits ; 
and, including the Presiding Elders, sixty-two laborers were 
employed. The statistics show that the membership num- 
bered 20,633 whites, and 2066 colored. 

The reader will not fail to observe that this newly- 
organized Conference extended from the south-western bor- 
der of Virginia to the Tombigbee, and from St. Louis to 
E'ew Orleans, embracing most of the settled portions of Illi- 
nois and Southern Indiana. 

The second session of the Tennessee Conference was held 
at Eees's Chapel, near Eranklin, Tenn, October 1, 1813. In 
the appointments for the ensuing year, a new name appears 
among the Western preachers : it is that which stands at the 
head of this sketch, Thomas L. Douglass. 

Of Mr. Douglass's early history, there is but little recorded 
which can be made available in this sketch. He has doubt- 
less left valuable documents, if they could only be brought 
to light; and the writer ht>pes that a more extended bio- 
graphy may yet be prepared which will spread before the 
Church in greater detail the important events of the life of 
one who labored so effectively in his Lord's vineyard. 

Mr. Douglass was a native of Person county, Is^'orth Caro- 
lina, born in the year 1781. Of his parentage and earl}- 
training we have but little information, yet, as he inherited 
a handsome patrimony, we infer that he was brought up in 
easy circumstances. His education was evidently designed 
to prepare him for a mercantile life, and he spent a portion 
of his early years as a merchant's clerk. Of the languages 
and sciences he gained but a limited knowledge in his school- 
boy days. 

He early embraced the Christian religion, and was con- 
14 



210 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



verted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Churcli in 1798. 
He was licensed to preach in the latter part of the year 1800. 
ThuSj at the early age of nineteen, he commenced the work 
of preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In the year 1801, he was admitted on trial in the Virginia 
Conference, and appointed to the Hanover and Williamsburg 
Circuit. His colleagues were "William Davis and Daniel 
Eoss. 

His second year he travelled Swanino Circuit alone, in 
Salisbury District, iTorth Carolina, then included in the 
Virginia Conference. 

At the end of his second year, he was received into full 
connection, ordained Deacon, and appointed in charge of the 
Guilford Circuit, John Ballew being his colleague. 

His fourth year was Greensville Circuit, I^orfolk District : 
Daniel Kelley his associate. 

At the close of this year, he was elected and ordained 
Elder, and stationed at Portsmouth, Virginia. 

His next year was spent on the Bertie Circuit, with John 
Pinner as his colleague. 

In 1807, he was appointed Presiding Elder of Salisbury 
District. 

In 1808, he was placed on the Yadkin District. This was 
nearly the same ground he occupied the previous year, but a 
new name was given to the District. 

In 1809, he was appointed to the James Piver District, 
which embraced Eichmond and the adjacent country. 

He was continued on this work till 1813, when his name 
appears in the Minutes as being stationed in Richmond, with 
Thomas Burge. 

During this year, he was transferred to the Tennessee Con- 
ference, and stationed in I^Tashville. At the session of the 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



211 



Virginia Conference in February, 1813, Mr. Douglass re- 
ceived Ms last appointment in that division of tlie work. 
He was transferred tlie October following, at wbich. time the 
Tennessee Conference convened. 

By glancing at bis appointments during bis connection 
with tbe Virginia Conference, it will be seen tbat tbougb 
young be occupied many of tbe most important fields of 
labor in Virginia and I^Tortb Carolina. He was associated, too, 
witb men wbo took bigb rank in tbose days ; sucb as Jesse 
Lee, Pbilip Bruce, Ricbard Lattimore, Jobn Early, and otbers. 
Mr. Douglass was not only a popular preacber in Virginia, 
but be was remarkable for bis success. He was tbe instru- 
ment, in tbe bands of God, of tbe conversion of hundreds 
and thousands of precious souls for whom Jesus died. He 
bad, moreover, the confidence of his elder brethren, and 
especially tbe Bishops. Hence we find him, when he bad 
been only six years in the ministry, in charge of a large and 
important District, and continued in this responsible posi- 
tion for several years in succession. He was also chosen as 
a representative to the first delegated General Conference of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. This was held 
in Baltimore, May, 1812. By reference to the Journal of 
that Conference, we find Mr. Douglass on important com- 
mittees, and taking an active part in tbe proceedings of tbe 
body. During the session of the Conference, he attracted 
great attention as a preacher : crowds assembled to bear the 
eloquent young Virginian, who won upon tbe hearts of tbe 
multitudes, and produced impressions which were not erased 
for many years. In 1840, tbe writer met many in Baltimore 
wbo remembered the eloquent and powerful sermons Thomas 
L. Douglass preached in 1812. 

The first appointment of Mr. Douglass in Tennessee was 



212 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



the town of IsTasliville, then comparatively a small village. 
The number of Methodists was small, the Minutes showing 
at the close of the year only thirty-eight whites and thirty- 
five colored. The appointment as a separate charge, we -pre- 
sume, was only temporary, as we find the town incorporated 
in the Circuit the ensuing year, and for several years after- 
ward. Indeed, IsTashville was not constituted a regular sta- 
tion till the autumn of 1818, when John Johnson was ap- 
pointed in charge, and continued for two years. 

Mr. Douglass was appointed his second year in the Ten- 
nessee Conference in charge of the ITashville District, as the 
successor of that great and good man. Learner Blackman. 
The District comprehended all that portion of Middle Ten- 
nessee south of the Cumberland river, and extended into 
i^orth Alabama, embracing all the territory then inhabited 
in the region between the Tennessee State line and the Ten- 
nessee river. 

On this District he was continued for four years ; and after 
an interim of one year, during which he was a super- 
numerary, he was returned to the E'ashville District, where 
he was continued for four years more in regular succession. 
The work, however, in this time had been greatly enlarged, 
new Districts formed, and the plan of the work much modi- 
fied. 

During these eight years' labor, Mr. Douglass was actively 
engaged in the work of the ministry, and witnessed a great 
ingathering into the fold of Christ. Few men were ever 
more popular and nseful, or exercised a greater influence on 
the multitudes, than this excellent servant of the Church. 

By twenty years' hard labor in those days, when the rides 
were long, camp -meetings numerous, and much of the 
preaching of necessity performed in the open air, Mr. Doug- 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 213 

lass's lieaitli became somewhat impaired. Yet he subsequently 
labored in various places : sometimes as a supernumerary, 
and again as efficient ; now in the Station, and then on the 
District or Circuit — ever exemplifying in his conversation 
that he was a devoted Christian and a faithful minister of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

He was for many years Secretary of the Tennessee Confer- 
ence, and Treasurer of the Conference Missionary Society. 
He was several times a delegate to the General Conference, 
and in 1832, and again in 1836, w^as the Secretary of that 
body. 

Soon after his removal to the "West, he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Frances McGee, daughter of the Rev. John 
McGee, a distinguished Methodist preacher, and one of the 
honored instruments of the wonderful revival that excited 
the "Western country about the year 1800. Mr. Douglass 
located his family in "Williamson county, Tennessee, where 
on a farm he employed himself in agricultural pursuits when 
not able to do effective work in the ministry. Several years 
of the latter part of his life he suffered much bodily afflic- 
tion, but whenever able to work, he was employed in doing 
good. As a farmer, he might, in many respects, have been 
considered a model. Order, neatness, and comfort were dis- 
played in every thing that pertained to his house and farm. 

To give the reader an idea of the spirit, zeal, and success 
of Mr. Douglass as a minister, we insert a report of the work 
in his District which he furnished to the editors of the 
Methodist Magazine. 

Nashville District, Oct. 15th, 1820. 

Dear Brethren : — I would communicate the intelligence 
contained in the following letter to one of our Bishops, if I 
knew where a letter could reach him in safety ; but as afflic- 



214 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



tions have prevented tlieir contemplated route tliroiigli tliis 
coiTntrjj I take the privilege of making the communication 
to you, that you may, if you think proper, give it a place in 
our Magazine, and by that means let the lovers of Jesus 
know what God is doing for us in Tennessee. 

In the opening of last spring, vre witnessed something 
more than an ordinary attention to the ministry of the word, 
especially in those parts of I^ashville and Lebanon Circuits 
which lie adjoining. There were frequent awakenings and 
conversions in other parts of the District, but this seemed to 
be the point where the prospect of the work was the most 
promising. On Saturday, the 24th of June, a Quarterly 
Meeting commenced at Eoss's Meeting-house, ]^^ashville Cir- 
cuit, "Wilson county. The preachers from Lebanon Circuit 
attended with, us, together vdth many of the members from 
both Circuits. They brought the fire with them. The meet- 
ing continued until Tuesday, and the Lord crowned it with 
seventeen converts. Thus far the work progressed, rather 
silently indeed, but very sweetly; and during one quarter in 
Lebanon Circuit, upwards of two hundred were added to the 
Church, and about one hundred souls converted at the regu- 
lar Circuit appointments. The expectations of the people 
were up. Zion travailed. The professors were sending their 
prayers to Heaven, and the general attention of the people 
seemed to be turned toward our approaching camp-meeting, 
which commenced on Friday, July 14th, at Centre Meeting- 
house, in Wilson county. Thursday was a day of incessant 
rain, and the prospect seemed very unpromising; but on 
Friday morning the material sun arose without a cloud to 
obstruct his cheering rays. All nature seemed to smile, and 
every thing was calculated to inspire the human mind, and 
call forth its energies in praise to G-od. The people began to 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 215 

collect very early, and came in crowds from every direction. 
The camp-ground had been considerably enlarged, but still 
we had to double the lines of the tents. Thirty-three preach- 
ers, and I think not less than five thousand people, attended 
this meeting. 

Divine service commenced on Friday at two o'clock. After 
a sermon was delivered, the order of the meeting was pub- 
lished, and an invitation given to the mourners to come into 
the altar. About thirty came forward, and before sunset, 
four of them professed conversion. At candle-light, we had 
another sermon : the mourners were again invited into the 
altar. About fifty were supposed to be on their knees when 
we engaged in prayer for them, and before next morning, 
nine of them found the blessing. On Saturday morning at 
sunrise a sermon was delivered, and the altar was nearly 
filled with mourners. "We had preaching at eight, eleven, 
and three o'clock, but the work was too great to admit of 
preaching at candle-light. "We had the trumpet blown ac- 
cording to the order of the meeting, for the purpose of hav- 
ing a sermon delivered; but just at that moment two or 
three struggled into liberty and rose praising God, while 
several others sunk under the power of conviction. We saw 
it was impossible for the people to hear preaching, so we de- 
clined it, and consented that God should work his own way, 
and thirty-one souls professed to find peace with God during 
the day and night. On Sabbath we had preaching at sun- 
rise, at eight, ten, and eleven o'clock. The work was great. 
Jehovah was in the camp. We did not attempt to preach in 
the afternoon, or at night. The convictions and conversions 
were almost perpetual ; and on Monday morning it was esti- 
mated there were eighty-sis souls who professed to get con- 
verted through the preceding day and night. At seven 



216 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



o'clock on Monday morning, tlie ordinance of baptism was 
administered to seven adults and twenty-five cMldren. A 
Divine power rested upon us, and the Lord was present to 
sanction the ordinance in which we are called by his name. 
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was then administered 
to several hundred communicants. It was a time of sweet 
communion with each other and with our Lord. "We closed 
the administration of the ordinance with a sermon about 
twelve o'clock, after which there was no more preaching 
through the afternoon or night. On Tuesday morning, at 
eight o'clock, a sermon was delivered, and about twelve 
o'clock the meeting ended. Through Monday, Monday night, 
and Tuesday, until the close of the meeting, fifty-eight pro- 
fessed to find the Lord. About forty mourners were on their 
knees when the congregation was dismissed, fourteen of 
whom obtained the blessing, some on the ground, and others 
on their way home ; making in all two hundred and two 
who professed faith in the Lord Jesus. On Tuesday morn- 
ing, we opened a door for the admission of members, and 
one hundred and eleven joined the Church, sixty of whom 
were young men. 

I do not remember that I ever saw more agreeable weather 
for a meeting in my life ; and such was the continual and 
glorious display of Divine power, that the altar was never 
empty of mourners from the time they were first invited into 
it until the meeting ended, except when they were carried 
out, that we might administer the ordinances of baptism and 
the Lord's Supper; neither did the people all leave the stage 
day or night from the beginning to the end of the meeting. 
The cries and groans for mercy among the distressed were 
perpetual ; the shouts of the young converts and old profes- 
sors were almost without intermission ; and such a sense of 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 217 

the Divine presence prevailed, that it seemed to impose a 
solemn awe upon the people as they entered the encamp- 
ment, so that we had no interruption, nor a single instance 
of misbehavior worth noticing, during the meeting. An 
aged sinner was heard to say, " He had never seen the like 
before : Grod had sanctified the ground, and none could walk 
upon it w^ithout feeling awful." 'No opposition, nor a single 
remark was heard against the reality of the w^ork. Some 
who had once been opposers of religion acknowledged they 
believed this work to be genuine. When the congregation 
was addressed on Tuesday, a request was made that all — not 
only those who had obtained religion, but those also who in- 
tended to seek it in good earnest, should get on their knees 
and join in prayer; and it was remarked that there was not 
an individual present who did not instantly drop on his 
knees. This was followed by a general cry for mercy through- 
out the congregation. We could no longer get the mourners 
into the altar : it was altar all over the camp-ground. "WHien 
the meeting was drawing to a close, a young man who had 
obtained religion stood up on one of the seats, and, looking 
over the congregation, exclaimed, " 0 Lord, must I go home 
and leave these people, and leave this place !" This was re- 
peated three times, with an emphasis that seemed to pene- 
tra.te every heart, as though it was the language of each in- 
dividual present. 

I have been a little more particular in giving an exact ac- 
count of this meeting, because it is considered as being the 
commencement of the greatest work that ever was seen in 
the "Western country. The holy afflatus was felt like an elec- 
trical shock in the surrounding counties, and its influence 
experienced more than one hundred miles in less than a 
week. The Eev. Edward Morris, John McGee, John Page, 



218 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



and Charles Ledbetter, wlio liave been instruments in plant- 
ing the gospel in different parts of the United States, and are 
known by many of the old Methodists, were at this meeting, 
and pronounced it to be the greatest time they had ever seen. 

Our camp-meeting for Caney Fork Circuit commenced on 
Friday, July 21st, at Goodhope, in "Warren county. This, 
upon the whole, was a great and good time. The country is 
but thinly inhabited, and our congregation was comparatively 
small, though larger than usual at that place. "We had sixty- 
eight converts, and thirty-one joined society. Another camp- 
meeting was held at the same time, near Shelbyville, by the 
Presbyterians and Methodists jointl}^ This was the time of 
the anniversary of their "Bible Society." The Lord favored 
them with his presence, and about seventy professed faith in 
Christ, amongst whom were some of the students belonging 
to the academy. 

We have had a gracious work in Duck River Circuit. The 
Quarterly Meeting, June 10th, at the Big-spring Meeting- 
house, in Maury county, was turned into a little camp-meet- 
ing. It was a new place, and but few people attended : how- 
ever, the Lord was with us, and gave us twentj^-six converts. 
Our regular camp-meeting for this Circuit commenced on 
Friday, July 28th, at Zion, in Maury county, and ended on 
Tuesday following. Here we had to contend with all the 
prejudices which Calvinism and Anti-pedobaptism are cal- 
culated to generate against the work of God ; but our exer- 
tions were in proportion, and the Lord gave us eighty-two 
converts, and sixty -four joined the Church. I baptized 
twenty-seven children and sixteen adults, and administered 
the Lord's Supper to upwards of four hundred communicants. 

Our camp-meeting for Bedford Circuit began on Thursday, 
August 3d, at Salem, in Bedford county, and ended the Tues- 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



219 



day following. This was among the greatest meetings I ever 
saw. The work commenced with the commencement of the 
meeting, and continued without intermission day and night. 
On Saturday afternoon, we had to fix a second stand in 
another part of the camp -ground, it being impossible to 
preach at the stage already built when the mourners were 
collected in the altar. On Sabbath morning, at eight o'clock, 
we had a sermon delivered at the lower stage, after which it 
was absolutely impossible to preach within the limits of the 
encampment any more that day : such were the cries of the 
distressed, and shouts of the young converts, nothing else 
could be heard. It was, therefore, reported to the people we 
would preach in a grove about three hundred yards distant. 
One of the pulpits being movable was taken up and carried 
to the place, and the people not engaged in the encampment 
attended. Here we preached at eleven and three o'clock, 
and here the arrows of conviction fastened in the hearts of 
many sinners ; and when wounded, they would immediately 
fly to the camp-ground as to a grand hospital, for there God 
was healing the sin-sick souls, and bringing the dead to life. 
On Monday morning, I baptized thirty-one children and 
twenty adults, and administered the Lord's Supper to four 
hundred and eighty communicants. Two hundred and fifty- 
one professed to be converted at this meeting, and one hun- 
dred and forty-eight joined society. One of the sons of Belial 
came to this meeting, and fixed his tent at a convenient dis- 
tance from the encampment, where he intended to enjoy 
himself with his wicked companions ; but as he did not 
come until Friday, some of them came before him and got 
religion, and as others came, they were struck under convic- 
tion, and left him, until, he said, he had lost even his class- 
leader. On Saturday evening, about half an hour after the 



220 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

candles were lighted up, lie came walking down through the 
camp -ground, and stopped near where I happened to be 
standing. At that moment the work was going on most 
gloriously at both stages, and in at least twenty tents ; and 
after turning and looking all round for some moments, 
""Well," said he, "if this is not enough to fret hell, I'll be 
d dl" He was by himself: we pitied him, but did no- 
thing with him, as we saw he could do us no harm. 

An extra camp-meeting was held in Lebanon Circuit, at 
Ebenezer, in Wilson county, commencing August 18th, and 
ended the Tuesday following. This is a place where camp- 
meetings have been held for many years ; but this meeting 
exceeded all the rest : the people came praying and believ- 
ing, and God was with them. One hundred and eighty-two 
professed to be converted, and one hundred and twenty-five 
joined society. The Eev. Valentine Cook attended this 
meeting, and preached on the subject of baptism with un- 
common power and great tisefulness. The sermon was much 
blessed to the people. 

The camp-meeting for Eichland Circuit commenced August 
2oth, at Pisgah, in Giles county, and ended the Tuesday fol- 
lowing. This is a place which God highly honored with 
signal displays of his power on former occasions. The people 
came out expecting to see gracious times, and they were not 
disappointecL The Lord gave us seventy-two converts, and 
sixty-five joined society. 

The camp-meeting for Xashville Circuit commenced Sep- 
tember 8th, at Mount ^3'ebo, in Williamson county, and ended 
the Tuesday following. Here we had to contend with strong 
prejudices against Methodism ; nevertheless, God was with 
us. The work of conviction was general and deep in the 
hearts of the people, and we had som.e of the most dis- 



THOMAS L. DOUaLASS. 221 

tinguislied and bright conversions I ever saw. According to 
the returns made, ninety-two professed to be converted, and 
ninety-six joined society. 

Our camp-meeting for Stone's River Circuit commenced on 
Thursday, September 21st, at Windrow's Meeting-house, in 
Rutherford county, and ended the Tuesday following. Here, 
I may say, the faith of the Christians rose to its proper point, 
and became the full persuasion of the truth of God's promise 
and the confident expectation that he would be with us. 
Many of the young converts from the other camp-meeting 
attended, and numbers under conviction came for the express 
purpose of getting their souls converted. The camp-ground 
was enlarged to twice its former size, and yet fully one-third 
of the tents were outside of the lines. Two stages were 
erected, and seats made for the accommodation of two con- 
gregations within the lines of the encampment, and another 
some distance on the outside. Although Thursday and Fri- 
day were days of almost incessant rain, the people appeared 
to be entirely regardless of it : they came in their carriages, 
fixed their tents, and collected round the stage to hear preach- 
ing, with as much attention as if there was no rain falling. 
The time was glorious beyond description ! It is impossible 
for me to give an account of particulars. Three hundred and 
fifty professed conversion, and two hundred and two joined 
society. On Monday morning, I baptized twenty-five children 
and fifty-six adults, and administered the Lord's Supper to 
nearly six hundred communicants. Murfreesboro', the county 
town, and at present the seat of Government in this State, 
shared largely in the benefits of this meeting. We have 
raised a society there of more than forty members, and the 
prospect of an increase is very promising. 

On comparing the numbers returned at Conference with 



222 BIOGBAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

•I 

tlie former numbers, I find we have a net increase of eighteen 
hundred and twenty members in the District ; and in order 
to have a correct idea of the work, it must be recollected that 
besides the deaths and expulsions, at least five hundred mem- 
bers have emigrated from this district to Missouri, Alabama, 
and Jackson's purchase over Tennessee river, in the course 
of the past year. 

The character of this revival is the least mixed with what 
is called irregularities or extravagances of any that I ever 
saw. We have had nothing of what is called the jerks or 
dance among us. The work of conviction in the hearts of 
sinners has been regular, powerful, and deep, their conver- 
sion or deliverance from sin and guilt clear and bright, and 
their rejoicings scriptural and rational. I think fully half of 
those who have been the subjects of the work are young men 
and heads of families — many of them among the most re- 
spectable in the country, men of education, men of talents. 
We anticipate help and usefulness from some of them in the 
Lord's vineyard. Upon the whole, it is the greatest work, 
the most blessed revival, I ever saw. The whole country in 
some places seems like bowing to our Emmanuel ; religion 
meets with very little that can be called opposition ; and 
many who neither profess nor appear to have any desire to 
get religion themselves manifest an uncommon degree of 
solicitude that others should obtain it, and express a high 
satisfaction at seeing the work prosper. May the Lord con- 
tinue to pour out his Spirit, and may the hallowed fire 
spread until all the inhabitants of the earth shall rejoice in 
his salvation ! To Grod be all the glory. 

Pray for us, dear brethren, that this year may be as the 
past, and much more abundantly. We look for it, and ex- 
pect it. The District is well supplied with preachers, men 



THOMAS L. DOUaLASS. 223 

of talents, men of zeal, and in tlie spirit of tlie work. May 
the Lord bless their labors ! 

I remain, as ever, 
Your very sincere brother in Christ, 

T. L. Douglass. 

This was one of the most extraordinary revivals of religion 
ever witnessed in the West. Multiplied thousands were con- 
verted and added to the Church ; and many who were its 
subjects became flaming heralds of the cross. At one of the 
meetings here reported by Mr. Douglass, Colonel James 
McFerrin, the father of the writer of this sketch, was awafi- 
ened, and soon afterwards converted. He carried the revival 
influence into his own family and neighborhood : his children 
were brought to God ; and subsequently three of his sons, 
and several of his neighbors, became Methodist preachers — 
some of whom have gone to their reward ; others still re- 
main, preaching Christ and him crucified. In this revival, 
the Eev. F. A. Owen, one of the Book Agents of the Method- 
ist Ej)iscopal Church, South, was converted and licensed by 
Mr. Douglass. Mr. Douglass also introduced Robert, now 
Bishop, Paine into the ministry, likewise Sterling Brown, 
that great star of the "West, who brought hundreds and thou- 
sands to God in the space of a few years, and went home in 
a chariot of fire, and many others who were giants in the 
cause of Christ. In all this great work, Mr. Douglass was 
one of the principal agents, exercising perhaps more influ- 
ence than any other man in advancing the cause of Christ. 

Mr. Douglass was of low stature, and in his latter years 
inclined to corpulency. His form was erect, and his carriage 
grave and dignified. His features were symmetrical, and his 
countenance benevolent. Indeed, he was very prepossessing 



224 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



in liis personal appearance, and could not fail to attract the 
attention and command the respect of his audience as soon 
as he ascended the pulpit. His voice was clear, full, and 
melodious, and modulated to the highest perfection. His 
articulation was distinct, and his tone and emphasis natural, 
rising above all art. He was, in a word, a fine specimen as 
a pulpit orator. His mind was clear, his judgment sound, 
and his views on all questions respected by his brethren. His 
theological attainments were far above mediocrity. He was 
familiar with the standard writers of the Church, and was 
thoroughly Wesley an in his views. As an administrator of 
discipline, he was mild and gentle, but strict, rigidly ad- 
hering to law. His knowledge of Methodist polity and usage 
was very accurate, and his statements and opinions had much 
weight, not only in his own Conference, but in the General 
Conference, of which he was considered, in his late years 
especially, a prominent member. 

As a man, he was remarkable for his probity and punctu- 
ality, and his word was a sufficient guaranty to any one 
who knew him. He required no endorsement, but, like the 
unadulterated coin, he always passed currently upon his own 
intrinsic value. 'No one questioned the honor or fidelity of 
this excellent man of God. 

As a Christian, he was consistent, uniform, devout. Cheer- 
ful in spirit, social in disposition, simple in manners, and 
pleasant in intercourse, he was a delightful companion ; and 
hence his society was always sought by his brethren, espe- 
cially by those of his own age in the ministry. 

But this good man has passed away. He has fallen asleep, 
and now reposes in the dust with his fathers and brethren. 
His last sickness was protracted, but borne with Christian 
patience and calm resignation to the will of God. His death- 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 



225 



bed scene was one of triumph. — of complete victory. He 
died on Sunday morning, the 9th of April, 1843, at his own 
residence. He had been confined to his house and chamber 
most of the winter previous, and as the spring opened, he 
gradually sank under the power of disease. On the Friday 
evening previous to his death, the Rev. A. L. P. Green and 
the Rev. M. H. Quinn called to see him, and spent the night 
with him. They found him near the gates of death, yet in 
full possession of all his mental faculties. They entered into 
a full and free conversation with him. He referred to the 
past, gave a brief history of his conversion and call to the 
ministry, and of his connection with the Virginia Confer- 
ence. He expressed full confidence in the doctrines of 
Christianity as taught by the Methodists. Said he, ''I have 
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church between 
forty-five and fifty years, and a preacher about forty-two 
years, and I believe the doctrines of the Church to be the 
true doctrines of the Bible, and I have not a shadow of 
doubt in regard to their correctness." Here be enlarged on 
the excellency of the doctrine of justification by faith ; and 
while dwelling upon this fundamental principle of our holy 
Christianity, his soul was overwhelmed by a sense of Divine 
goodness, and in rapturous joy he praised God for the plan 
of salvation. He also bore testimony to the excellency of 
Methodist polity, saying, "I have ever looked upon our 
government as the best Church -government in the world, 
and that God was with its framers." 

Mr. Green suggested to him that his labor and exposure 
as an itinerant preacher had possibly made him prematurely 
old, and had hastened his dissolution. He replied, " That 
is quite possible ; yet if I had my life to pass over again, I 

would take the same track. Any suftering I have endured, 
15 



226 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



any sacrifice I have made for Christ's sake, is now my glory. 
I glory in the cross of Christ !" 

During family - pray er he was greatly moved, and re- 
sponded with mnch fervency ; and when a hymn was sung 
with the chorus, 

" This world is not my home, 
This world's a howling wilderness, 
But heaven is my home," 

he paraphrased the words, and while tears of joy flowed from 
his eyes, he said, "Home, sweet home! After a life of toil 
and labor, to get home, where I shall rest I where I shall see 
my blessed Saviour !" 

He spoke afiectionately of his fathers and brethren in the 
ministry, and said that when he reached heaven he would be 
no stranger, but would see and recognize Asbury and McKen- 
dree, and others with whom he toiled to cultivate Emmanuel's 
land, and would meet many of his spiritual children. 

Thus, in strains of triumph, he rejoiced in the prospect of 
his change, and continued strong in faith, giving glory to 
God, till he fell asleep in Jesus, without the slightest ap- 
parent struggle or agony. 

On Monday, the 10th of April, 1843, he was buried, after a 
funeral discourse by the Eev. Dr. Green, founded on the ap- 
propriate passage, " 'Well done, thou good and faithful ser- 
vant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make 
thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord." His brethren in the ministry, and the members of 
the Church from the surrounding country, came by scores 
and hundreds to weep at the grave of him who had so often 
gladdened their hearts by the proclamation of salvation 
through Jesus Christ. 

His dust has been removed to the cemetery at Franklin, 



THOMAS L. DOUGLASS. 227 

Tenn., where, with the remains of his wife, who has since 
followed him to the grave, he reposes, in hope of a glorious 
resurrection. 

" Though dead, he yet speaketh." He lives in the memory 
of thousands, and lives to die no more. "And they that be 
wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and 
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever 
an^ ever." 

The epitaph given on the following page, written by the 
Eev. Dr. Green, is inscribed on a neat stone which marks 
the place of his slumbers. 



228 



BIOaEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



TO 

THEMEMORYOFTHE 

REV. THOMAS LOGAN DOUGLASS, 
Born July 8, 1781, 

AND 

Departed this life 1843. 

He was from Ms youth a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for 
more than forty years a minister of the gospel of Christ. 

He heired by nature a sound mind, and by grace the friendship of Heaven 
and fellowship with God. 



Death came ; but death could not surprise 

Him, who had watched each day with prayer, 
Waiting with longing eyes 

To show his Lord a faithful servant's care. 
When called the bridegroom and his friends to meet. 

No oil to buy, no labor to begin. 
With burning lamp, girt loins, and peace-shod feet, 

Thus, hand in hand, through death he entered in, 
And found a bridal-garment and a seat. 

He sowed in tears, in joy he reaps. 
And when the shafts of death fell thick and fast, 
Like Stephen, blessing to the last. 

In Christ he sleeps. 



JOHN LANE 



229 



JOHE" LAl^E. 

BY B. M. DRAKE, D. D. 

A COMPANY of friends, all lovers of tlie beauties of nature, 
resolve to gratify their prevailing taste in an evening stroll. 
The scenery which invites them is varied. In the back- 
ground, the lofty mountain lifts its beetling cliff and crag to 
a dizzy height. Torrent and cataract, sheltered dell and 
yawning chasm, make the scene most romantic. Just below, 
nature assumes another of her "changeful forms:" swelling 
hill and sloping valley, tangled forest and cultivated field, 
tiny rill, gushing fountain, and nestling cottage, give to the 
chastened scenery more of the picturesque than the romantic. 
Still onward, the broad "pastures clothed with flocks," and 
the fertile "valleys covered with corn," send up to Heaven a 
shout of joy and hymn of gratitude, 

"Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, 
Amid the verdant landscape flow," 

!N^ow the crystal waters kiss the adventurous flowers, or wave 
the pendant grass, gentle as the morning breeze. 

1^0 sooner do our lovers of nature glance at the varied 
scene than by an instinct of taste they separate into groups. 
Here the* more adventurous clamber up the giddy heights, 



230 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



swing over the projecting crag, swoon at the yawning gulf 
below, are deafened by the roar of the thundering cataract, 
but only breathe the quicker, to send the life-current with 
greater exhilaration to every extremity. 

Another group wander over hill and dale, loiter in sylvan 
bower, pluck the modest flower from its sequestered home, 
or quaff the crystal flood from its rocky chalice. 

Still another group, with taste more chastened, but cer- 
tainly not less refined, wend their way along the banks of 
the peaceful stream, admire the enamelled beauties of the 
meadow, adore the Hand which " clothes the smiling fields 
with corn," or gaze upon the placid waters until the reflected 
heavens seem to unite all that is beautiful on earth with all 
that is glorious above. 

It is thus that the broad and varied fields of biographical 
literature are spread out to meet the taste of all. 

The subject of the present sketch, the Eev. John Lane, of 
Yicksburg, is fitly represented by the last landscape: quiet, 
gentle, unobtrusive, full of good fruits, he made every vale 
of earth to smile through which he passed. 

William Lane, Esq., the father of John, was a native of 
Virginia, of English parentage. He was a Revolutionary 
soldier, and, so far as appears, a highly respectable gentle- 
man. He was not a professor of religion. "When his son 
John was only two years old, he removed to Georgia, and 
settled in Elbert county. He was doubtless animated by the 
spirit so common in our country, the desire of bettering the 
condition of his family by settling in a new country. It is 
doubtful whether he accomplished this object, as we find him 
less able to educate his younger than his older children. 

John was the youngest of ten children. Mrs. E"ancy Lane, 
his mother, was a devoted member of the Methodist Church, 



JOHN LANE. 



231 



and early taught her son the precepts and doctrines of our 
hol}^ religion. She had the pleasure of seeing them affect 
the moral deportment of her son so far that he never recol- 
lects to have sworn a profane oath, told a wilful falsehood, 
played a game of cards or billiards, or drunk a drop of ardent 
spirits, except medicinally. This was good fruit : the culture 
must have been good. 

"With all this he was not a Christian : he had not experi- 
enced a change of heart. "When young Lane was about 
fifteen years old, it pleased God to remove this inestimable 
mother to her home in heaven. The father broke up house- 
keeping, and resided with one of his married children, and 
John with another. This melancholy disbanding of the 
family, so fraught with apparent disaster, was made the occa- 
sion of good to John. The hour came when the old home- 
stead, with all its hallowed associations, had to be aban- 
doned. With all the fervor of young love, he went alone to 
take a final leave of his mother's grave. It was now that the 
faithful instructions of that mother came over his heart with 
the power of the Holy Ghost. Kneeling beside that grave, 
he vowed to meet her in heaven. That vow, though deferred, 
was never forgotten. "What an encouragement do we find in 
this incident to parents to sow early, and with an unsparing 
hand, the seeds of the kingdom. That hand may soon be 
still in death that now sows, but not the seed shall die : 

" Grace keeps the precious germ alive, 
When and wherever strewn." 

It was not long after he went to reside with his brother 
before it was thought he was capable of self-government and 
self-support ; so he launched his frail bark on the perilous 
ocean of this uncertain world. His first felt want was more 



232 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



education. He could read and write, and ciplier a little. 
With tliis slender stock, lie commenced school-teacliing, with 
tlie sole object of putting himself to school. We know not 
how long he continued to teach, but at the end of his twenty- 
second year, he had given himself the advantage of a year 
and a half at Franklin College, then one of the best institu- 
tions in the country. 

While attending this institution, he boarded with the 
venerable Hope Hull, of blessed memory. This highly- 
favored servant of God was made the instrument of reviving 
the convictions received at his mother's grave. Of his travail 
of spirit, we have no authentic account, but this much is 
known, it resulted in a clear, powerful, satisfactory conver- 
sion, which was soon followed by an unequivocal, unmistak- 
able call of the Holy Spirit to the work of the gospel minis- 
try. He conferred not with flesh and blood. He was anxious 
to obtain a classical education, but did not feel himself at 
liberty to abstract so much of his time from his heavenly 
mission as would be necessary to accomplish that object. 
He felt that He who called him to that holy vocation had 
some work to be done that he could then do : hence he said, 
"Here am I: send me !" 

His first essay was not alone, but in company with the 
preacher of the Circuit. For a young man to spend some 
months with a judicious senior, both engaged in the same 
earnest work of saving sinners, maybe of lasting importance. 
It was the general practice in the early days of Methodism 
and of Christianity, so far as we can learn, and ought never 
to be abandoned. 

Young Lane was soon after recommended to the South 
Carolina Conference, then including the State of Georgia. 
He was received on trial at the Conference of 1814, and ap- 



JOHN LANE. 



233 



pointed junior preaclier to Bush Eiver Circuit. The late 
Bishop Capers was his Presiding Elder. In 1815, he travelled 
the Louisville Circuit in the State of Georgia, Of his suc- 
cess in these Circuits we have no account. It was his good 
fortune at this period of his life to be associated with those 
venerable men who laid deep and wide the foundation of 
Methodism in the South: such as James Jenkins, Samuel 
Dunwody, Hope Hull, Joseph Tarpley, Lewis Myers, "William 
Capers, William M. Kennedy, and a host of others of like 
spirit. These men were the models on which he formed his 
own character. It would be difficult in any age or country 
to find better models. 

At the Conference held in Charleston, at the close of 1815, 
Mr. Lane was elected to Deacon's orders, and set apart by the 
imposition of the hands of Bishop McKendree. Mississippi 
and Louisiana then constituted the missionary field of the 
Church. To volunteer for that field was almost like self- 
immolation. Its distance from the other portions of the 
United States, its mixed population, the fatal malaria sup- 
posed to prevail all over the country, rendered it the moral 
Thermopylse of the Connection. 

Besides these general difficulties, at the time of which we 
write, the Cherokee and Creek nations of Indians intervened 
between South Carolina and Mississippi, the latter of which 
tribes was in a state of great dissatisfaction and incipient 
hostility. In these circumstances. Bishop McKendree asked 
for volunteers for that forlorn hope. John Lane and Ashley 
Hewitt stood forth. They were accepted and appointed. I 
cannot describe their journey through the great and terrible 
wilderness better than in the words of Brother Lane. He 
writes as follows : 

"At the South Carolina Conference, held at Charleston, 



234 



BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



December, 1815, I was sent by Bishop McKendree to wbat 
was then called tlie ITatcliez Circuit. Brother Asbley Hewitt 
was sent to tbe Tombigbee Circuit. In the early part of 
January, 1816, we met at Milledgeville, Georgia : purchased 
a pack-mule, and other articles necessary for our journey. 

"About this time, the surveyors had gone out to run the 
dividing-line between the Creek nation and the United States. 
A difficulty had occurred between the surveyors and the 
Indians as to where the line should run. The Indians had 
become very hostile, and had killed a number of travellers 
and families who had settled over what they considered the 
line. 

" E'otwithstanding the dangers, we set out on our long and 
perilous journey. "We reached Fort Hawkins, on the border 
of the wilderness, where there was a large military force. 
Here we learned that all travelling, except in large com- 
panies, was stopped, and that there was far more danger than 
we had anticipated. We were advised not to proceed, and 
Brother Hewitt said we had better give over our journey. 
But I said no : we are single men, have no wives and chil- 
dren, and that if we had been sent in the providence of God, 
and he had work for us to do, he would take care of us and 
bring us safely through. When we arrived at Fort Mitchel, 
on the Chattahoochee river, we found some two hundred 
soldiers, who had become alarmed at the reports of the hos- 
tility of the savages, and were afraid to proceed, and had 
sent back to Fort Hawkins for reinforcements. We still 
trusted in God, and pursued our journey. On our way, we 
saw many Indian women and children, and some old men, 
who looked very savage at us. We met another company, 
who told us of several murders, and of the great danger of 
travelling alone. Hewitt again said we had better go back. 



JOHN LANE. 235 

I said no : that I sliould go througli, or fall in tlie attempt. 
That evening late we left the road, and went into a deep 
hollow, built up a fire, cooked our supper, pitched our 
little tent, for it was raining, said our prayers, which we al- 
ways did morning and night as regularly as if we had been 
in a family, and then lay down to rest. About two o'clock 
in the morning, we were roused by the snorting of our horses : 
we knew that Indians were about. I had been presented 
with a pair of horse-pistols. I soon heard the Indians step- 
ping about; and being an Arminian, and not trusting alto- 
gether in faith, but believing in works, raised one of my 
pistols and fired in the direction I heard them. The Indians 
ran off ; and in the morning we examined but found no traces 
of blood, and trusted the poor Indians had escaped unhurt. 
After passing many places where the houses had been burned 
up and the families in them, we arrived safely at the white 
settlements on the Tombigbee. 

"Here, Brother Hewitt having reached his field of labor, 
we had to separate. I still had to go two or three hundred 
miles to my Circuit, through almost a wilderness. I suffered 
a great deal, it being very cold, and I had to swim almost all 
the creeks." 

It is to be deeply regretted that the extract is so short, but 
it is all that can now be recovered. The country through 
which he passed from Tombigbee to ^Natchez I passed alone 
eleven years after : even then, there was one stretch of forty- 
five miles where but one house was seen upon the road. 

I shall be pardoned for a short digression at this point. 
Ashley Hewitt, the co-missionary of Brother Lane, was only 
a little more prudent, and slightly less heroic, than the latter. 
He lived for many years a faithful and acceptable member of 
the Mississippi Conference. Above all his brethren, he was 



236 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



a man of affliction, all of whieli lie bore with, exemplary for- 
titude and resignatioD. But tlie liour of his release came. 
He was expiring in great Christian triumph in one room, and 
a lovely daughter was expiring in another room of the same 
building. His only remaining earthly anxiety was for the 
conversion of that daughter. She was a member of the 
Church, but had never professed a change of heart. In the 
triumph of all - conquering faith, he had embraced the con- 
version of that child. His oft-repeated inquiry, "Is she yet 
converted?" was as often answered in the negative; but she 
was an earnest seeker. At length her friends saw her draw 
her last breath as they supposed, and felt the pulse stand still. 
These sad tidings were carried to the father. " Did she give 
any evidence of conversion before she expired?" was the 
anxious question of the father. The answer, "ITo," did not 
appal his heart or shake his confidence. " Then she is not 
dead!" was the answer of unwavering faith. Soon a noise 
was heard in the chamber of the supposed dead girl. She 
was alive in more than one sense. She proclaimed to all the 
full assurance of faith, and soon expired, shouting the praises 
of God. Then there was light in that father's apartment. 
Such joy, such floods of glory, seemed a remuneration for 
twenty years of sorrow and affliction. He, too, took Ms 
flight to the glory-land so soon after the daughter that there 
was no need to close the gate after the triumphant entrance 
of the one till the other was there. 

I will not dismiss this journey of Brother Lane without 
giving an incident not recorded in his account as given 
above, but which he has related to many of his friends. The 
expenses of his journey had probably exceeded his calcula- 
tion, and his slender finances had come to a crisis — a thing 
not uncommon in those days and in much later days. His 



JOHN LANE. 237 

last dime was gone, and lie not at liis journey's end, and 
among entire strangers. He stopped to spend the night with 
a widow lady, not knowing whether or not he should be re- 
quired to pay his bill. He did not make the frank avowal 
of his poverty at first. This gave him almost a sleepless 
night. How should he meet his hostess in the morning was 
the anxious inquiry. Morning came. The kind woman had 
found out somehow who he was, and what his errand. She 
had not the slightest clue to his pressing necessities. With- 
out giving him time to ask his bill and tell his sad story, she 
slipped into his hand, in the most delicate manner, twenty 
dollars, asking him to accept it. "Your Father knoweth 
that ye have need of these things" is a precious truth. It 
was not the last nor probably the first of the kind that hap- 
pened to the subject of this sketch, but the only one we shall 
relate. Were all similar cases related that have happened to 
members of the Mississippi Conference, they would fill an 
octavo volume. That minister who cannot trust the Saviour 
is surely very unbelieving. I know not who the benevolent 
lady was who on that occasion was God's almoner, but doubt- 
less her record is on high and her reward sure. 

The E'atchez Circuit, to which Mr. Lane was appointed, 
included the country from the "Walnut Hills to the Hamo- 
chitto river. It embraced Washington, the original hive of 
Methodism in Mississippi, and where for many years the 
largest and most influential Church assembled. To the ga- 
thering of this early metropolitan Church he contributed his 
full share. The footprints he there made are not yet oblite- 
rated : they remain in the memories of those who were 
brought to God by his ministry, and in the memories of 
those who were then children, now old persons, to whom he 
taught the catechism and induced to commit hymns to 



238 BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

memory. Some of these liymns are now sung by his early 
disciples with gratitude to God and kindliest remembrance 
of their early instructor. Such monuments are more lasting 
than marble or brass, more dear to the minister's heart than 
thrones or diadems. 

At the close of this year, he assisted in the organization of 
the Mississippi Conference. This took place at the house 
of "William Foster, Esq., of Pine Ridge, Adams county, seven 
miles above ITatchez. Bishop Roberts was in attendance. 
It is supposed to be the first Conference he attended after his 
ordination in May. He had the freshness of young but full- 
grown manhood upon him. The impression then made is 
not effaced to this day. His very texts and hymns are yet 
remembered. The little company of pioneers then assembled 
were a feeble band — nine in number, all told. They had to 
provide for the spiritual wants of the people, so far as Meth- 
odism was concerned, from the Chattahoochee to the Tennes- 
see river, and from the Cherokee nation east to the Sabine 
river west. The little company all slept under the same roof, 
and ate at the same hospitable table. The cottage — for now 
it seems quite diminutive — still stands, almost unchanged. 
It is worthy of remark that four of that little band, at the 
end of forty-one years, still survive. Five have finished their 
course with joy. Those who have gone to their reward are 
Thomas Griffin, John Menifee, John Lane, Ashley Hewitt, 
and Alexander Fleming. The survivors are Peter James, 
Elisha Lott, Thomas Mxon, and Elijah Gentry. Dr. Winans 
was local at the time, but present and assisting at the Con- 
'.^ ference. One was received on trial, Thomas Owens, the first 
recruit in the Territory. He still lives to bless the Church 
with his evangelical labors. 

In looking over the territory to be supplied by this little 



JOHN LANE. 



239 



baud, we are constrained to exclaim, What liath God 
wrouglit! They went out with their staff, but now they 
are more than three bands. From this nucleus have sprung 
the Alabama, Louisiana, two Texas Conferences, and a part 
of the Memphis Conference. 

At the close of this Conference, Mr. Lane was sent to the 
Wilkinson Circuit. In this field, then extending from Man- 
shac and Lake Ponchartrain on the south to Hamochitto river 
on the north, he labored two years. Here he formed some 
of his most sacred and lasting friendships. Many of those 
friends live to mourn his loss, and cherish his memory as a 
pleasant dream of the past. During this period. Bishop 
McKendree visited this country in very feeble health. He 
had for his travelling companion the Rev. Benjamin Edge. 
To return to the Western country, it was necessary to make 
a long journey in the wilderness among the Cherokee and 
Chickasaw Indians. In his feeble condition, the Bishop did 
not think Brother Edge could carry him through. He de- 
sired Brother E. McGehee, of Wilkinson county, with whom 
he had spent most of the winter, to accompany him. This 
being impossible. Brother McGehee recommended Brother 
Lane to him. He assured him that Lane was most amiable, 
accommodating, courageous, and powerful. ^' Should it be 
mecessary," said he, *'he has the strength and courage to 
take you in his arms and swim the rivers with you." He 
was immediately selected, and the journey commenced. 
From the middle of the Choctaw nation, the Bishop writes 
his friend McGehee: "I write you this note as I lie on my 
couch, paper held in my hand. . Brother Lane is all you re- 
commended him to be, and more ; for, in addition, he is a 
very good cook. He is now preparing my breakfast." This 
passage from the Bishop's letter is quoted from memory. It 



240 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



is no small compliment to tlie amiability and good sense of 
Brother Lane that lie filled the Bishop's bill for a travelling 
companion. In his age, infirmities, and exceeding nervous- 
ness, he was sometimes exacting. So well pleased was he in 
this instance that he desired his young friend to become his 
companion for life, which he probably would have under- 
taken in kindness but for a prior engagement which forbade it. 

In 1819 and 1820, he again labored on the ^Tatchez Circuit. 
As before, his labors were very acceptable and useful. He 
did not slack the hand of diligence or restrain the heart of 
love. Old and young, black and white, all ages and condi- 
tions, shared in his apostolic labors. During this period, an 
important change was made in his condition in life. He was 
married to Miss Sarah Yick, eldest daughter of the Rev. 
liTewit Yick. Of this marriage, we will say but little, as one 
of the parties still survives. We will only say, God and 
good men approved, and every year has confirmed the ver- 
dict. 

Brother Lane was a delegate to the General Conference 
held in Baltimore, May, 1820. There have been few more 
eventful General Conferences than this. It was then that 
the Presiding Elder question was sprung. After much heated 
debate, a committee of compromise was appointed. In this 
committee a leading Southern member, considered against 
the change, was so far overreached by his fellow-committee 
men as to agree to a compromise report, as it was called, in- 
cluding nearly every objectionable feature of the original 
proposition, which was to take the appointment of Presiding 
Elders out of the hands of the Bishop, and give it to the 
Conference, and make the Presiding Elders, with the Bishop, 
a committee to station the preachers. When the report came 
in, those who sought the change insisted that the vote should 



JOHN LANE. 



241 



be taken without debate as a compromise measure. This 
would probably have carried but for the timely obstinacy 
of Lewis Myers, of Georgia, who persisted in showing its 
fallacy. When the vote was taken, there were but fifteen 
who stood up for the old plan. In this forlorn hope our 
friend Lane was found. The Church owes a debt of grati- 
tude to them. Their principles finally prevailed, after a long 
struggle. The question was set at rest in 1828 by an over- 
whelming majority. 

Late in the autumn of 1820, Brother Lane was appointed 
Presiding Elder of the Mississippi District, then extending 
from the Lakes on the south to the Yazoo river on the north, 
and from the Mississippi on the west to Leaf River on the 
east — nearly half of the territory now occupied by the present 
Mississippi Conference. 

At the close of this Conference year, he asked for and re- 
ceived a location. The necessity of this step arose from the 
fact that both his father-in-law and mother-in-law died the 
same day, leaving a family of ten children, the youngest an 
infant. There was no one of the children old enough to take 
charge of the estate or rear the younger children. The 
estate, though considerable, was much embarrassed, and 
without prompt and energetic management, must have been 
lost to the family, and most of the children left without edu- 
cation. In these circumstances. Brother Lane felt himself 
imperiously called to locate. As a travelling preacher in 
those days, he would not have had more than two or three 
days in a month to attend to any temporal business. On his 
last Circuit he had but one rest-day in four weeks, and on 
that day he had to ride thirty miles to reach home. I pre- 
sume any one would decide that he did right to locate. 

He continued in a local sphere for eleven years. During 
16 



242 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



that period, I think I am safe in saying tliat lie performed 
more ministerial labor, and was far more useful, tlian many 
itinerant preachers. One year he was employed by the Pre- 
siding Elder to take charge of the Yicksburg Station, when 
it was first organized as a Station. Another year, by the re- 
quest of the Presiding Elder and consent of the Bishop, he 
acted as Presiding Elder for three or four months. For six 
or eight months, while residing in 'New Orleans for business 
purposes, he acted as pastor of the little flock, then wholly 
without a shepherd. In this capacity he not only labored 
with zeal, but with acceptableness and marked usefulness. 
During the same period, I knew him to go, at the call of a 
stranger, (I was that stranger,) near two hundred miles, 
across the dismal swamp of the Mississippi, at the mouth of 
Red Piver, to assist in holding the first camp-meeting ever 
held in "Western Louisiana, near Cheneyville, on the Bayou 
Boeuf. These are only specimens of his zeal and devotion 
to the work as a local preacher. These services were all 
gratuitous. It is probable his expenses were never paid in a 
single instance. 

During this period, he laid off, and sold out, the town of 
Vicksburg ; became a merchant on rather a large scale ; acted- 
as Judge of the Probate Court of Warren county for many 
years ; had the burden of rearing and educating most of his 
wife's brothers and sisters, and so managed the estate as to 
give them all a competence at maturity. As he was con- 
sidered one of the best financiers in that part of the 
country, he was long a director of the Railroad Bank of 
Vicksburg. There were few projects in that vicinity for the 
benefit of the country in which he did not take an active 
and leading part. 

Eor some years the estate of Mr. Vick was exceedingly 



JOHN LANE. 248 

embarrassed, and Brother Lane was at Ms wits' end to pre- 
serve it from sacrifice. Finally his schemes all seemed to 
succeed, and he considered his head quite above the wave. 
Having accomplished the object for which he located, he did 
not feel at liberty longer to continue in that relation. In 
1832, he reentered the travelling Connection ; but his exten- 
sive credit and the great goodness of his heart again embar- 
rassed him. Flush times were just coming on in Mississippi ; 
many of his friends desired the use of his name for specu- 
lating purposes. This was granted too freely. "When the 
reverses of 1837 and 1838 came on, he found himself again 
involved. "While he was not always able to meet his engage- 
ments, he always showed an honest front, never repudiating 
one dime of his own or his friends' responsibilities, or putting 
himself out of the power of his creditors. Some might have 
thought the waiting long, but his struggles were immense to 
meet all his liabilities, and still preserve something for his 
family. Before his death, he had paid more than one hun- 
dred thousand dollars of security debts ! It is pleasing to 
know that he left enough to meet all his liabilities, and some- 
thing over for his family. 

I have been more particular in relating his pecuniary cir- 
cumstances, to exhibit what seems to me the noblest trait in 
his character. It was a firm determination to do his duty 
to God and the Church, in spite of all worldly interests.' 
WTiile in a local sphere, though he had followed what seemed 
the evident dictates of duty, he was never contented. He 
sighed to take his part with his brethren in the great itine- 
rant field. That work was deeply graven on his heart. At 
one time he was near unto death for many weeks. E'othing 
so preyed on his mind as the idea that he was to die, as he 
said, " out of the harness." WTien he returned to the regular 



244 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



work, nobly did lie lay all worldly prospects on the altar of 
sacrifice. But he might have thought he could preserve his 
fortune and do the work. God permitted him to be further 
tried. For many long years the struggle seemed between 
absolute poverty and abandoning the work. Then he had a 
family who had been brought up with the prospect of afflu- 
ence. Their habits were formed in view of this state of life. 
God and he who has passed through the same only know 
how sorely the enemy can thrust in these circumstances. 
"Well might he say in his last hours, "I have loved the 
Church, and made many sacrifices to continue in the itine- 
rant ministry." "When thus sorely pressed, he writes to his 
beloved friend Dr. "Winans : " E"othing but the most sacred 
obligation could have urged me to this work." And again : 
"I fear that this work will injure my temporal affairs; but 
when my duty to God and the Church comes in contact with 
my temporal business, the less, I hope, will always yield to 
the greater." "Well did he sustain this principle. If busi- 
ness ever kept him from an appointment, I have it yet to 
learn. When the hour came, he tore himself away, however 
difficult or disastrous. There was not a man in Mississippi 
more famous for meeting all his appointments. For years 
we may consider him as "following in darkness, where there 
was no light," but still " staying himself" on the Divine arm. 
We have known many sacrifices laid on God's altar; but if 
we have ever known one more noble, full, and free than J ohn 
Lane's, we are not aware of it. But as he now looks down 
from his high seat above, does he regret any of these sacri- 
fices ? I trow not. 

On his return to the Conference, he was appointed to the 
Yazoo District: in 1834, 1835, and 1836, Yicksburg District: 
in 183T, he was agent for an academy : in 1838, missionary 



JOHN LANE. 245 

to people of color in Warren Circuit : tlien four years on tlie 
Vicksburg' District: in 1843, Jackson District: tlien two 
years on Warr^ Circuit : in 1846 and 1847, agent for Cente- 
nary College : in 1848, Yazoo District : tlien four years on 
Yicksburg District : in 1853 and 1854, on Lake Washington 
District: in 1855, Warren Circuit, wkere he finished his 
course with joy. For many years he was the President of 
the Board of Trustees of Centenary College, and for a still 
greater number of jears, the President of the Missionary So- 
ciety of the Mississippi Conference. 

I give this long list to show the extent and variety of his 
labors. In all he was equally faithful. A number of times 
he served the Church as delegate to the General Conference, 
and always with promptness, fidelity, and honor. 'No amount 
of heat or cold, wet or dry, sunshine or storm, could prevent 
him from attending his appointments. In his younger days 
he frequently swam creeks, five and six times a day, to reach 
his appointment; and to the very last no weather stopped 
him. In the bitter winter of 1855, he might be seen breast- 
ing the heaviest storm to reach some small, out-of-the-way 
church, with no prospect of meeting more than a half dozen, 
if so many, when he arrived. When remonstrated with for 
exposing himself for so small an object, his reply was, it 
would not do to make it uncertain whether he would be 
there. Often he would leave home when the rain was pour- 
ing, and when urged to remain by his family, he would reply, 
^' The rain may be over by the time of service, and the people 
may be there, and it will not do to disappoint them." 

Late in the autumn of 1854, he had a severe attack of 
sickness, something of the nature of flux. This greatly 
reduced him. He came to Conference in Jackson, Louisi- 
ana, quite emaciated. Both his flesh and strength were 



246 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



gone. In tliese circumstances, tlie BislioiD tlionglit Mm 
no longer able to stand tlie fatigues of the extensive and 
laborious District over wbicb be bad been presiding. Un- 
willing to turn back in tbe day of battle, with a heart still 
for the work, while his hands faltered, he insisted that his 
disease was only temporary, and that he should soon be able 
to go in the front of the battle, as he had always gone. It 
would seem his judgment was correct, for in the course of 
the winter he measurably recovered his strength. The work 
assigned him was comparatively light, and near his residence. 
He was able to meet most or all of his appointments, and, as 
has been intimated, permitted no weather to prevent him. 
But it is believed that his constitution received a shock in 
the attack of the previous autumn from which he had not 
fully recovered, and which probably made it an easier prey 
to the fell destroyer which attacked him the ensuing autumn. 
His friends observed with pain that his step was not quite so 
elastic nor his countenance so bright as formerly. He re- 
sided in the environs of Yicksburg. In the autumn of 1855, 
the yellow fever again visited that city. Though while re- 
siding in the heart of the city he had passed through several 
severe epidemics of this dreaded scourge, and done his duty 
faithfully to the sick and d^dng, and escaped an attack, yet, 
as the disease had seemed to become more virulent, and his 
work was entirely in the country, and many were afraid to 
see one who had been in the infected district, he thought it 
best to avoid it. But the fever was introduced into his family 
by the passing of servants. Then, with the humanity always 
characteristic of his nature, he gave every attention to the 
sick. So well did he nurse them, that they all recovered; 
but he fell a victim. 

From the time the disease seized him, he felt that his work 



JOHN LANE. 



24T 



was done. Indeed, for weeks previous, lie liad seemed to be 
ripening for heaven. His family observed that bis prayers at 
tbe family-altar were more fervent. Often be would rise 
from bis knees witb eyes suffused with tears ; and now tbat 
be beard tbe rumbling of bis Master's cbariot-wbeels, calmly 
and patiently did be await bis coming. He gave bis parting 
benediction to bis family, and sent messages of love to bis 
bretbren in tbe ministry. G-od knows tbat I bave loved tbe 
Cburcb, and bave made many pecuniary sacrifices to labor in 
tbe itinerant ministry. I do not now regret tbose sacrifices ; 
but I trust in none of tbem for salvation. I simply cling to 
tbe bleeding cross." 

His last interview witb tbe companion of bis joys and sor- 
rows, wbicb was effected by carrying ber in tbe arms of 
friends from ber own sick-room to bis bedside, was too ten- 
der, too full of patbos, for tbe public gaze. Tbe fulness of a 
lifetime of love gusbed up from tbese breaking bearts in a 
single moment. But tbeir sorrow was not witbout bope. A 
brigbt vista opened up before tbe eyes of tbeir faitb, wbere a 
speedy reunion would take place, 

"Where the Lamb and the white-vested elders are met." 

It is bard to contemplate tbe scene tbat transpired at tbis 
cottage-bome witbout saying, witb Dr. Young, 

" The chamber where the good man meets his fate 
Is privileged beyond the common walks of virtuous life, 
Quite in the verge of heaven." 

Only a few sbort bours passed, and tbe beavenly convoy 
again descended. ISTow it was to convey tbe youngest of tbe 
family, Jobn Massillon Lane, to tbe better land. He was a 
lovely, promising young man, wbo bad just entered on tbe 
practice of medicine. Early bad be dedicated bis beart to 



248 BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

God : lieuce, when tlie messenger came, he had his " loins 
girded about, and his lamp burning." Those who saw his 
face "beheld it as the face of an angel." So rapturous were 
the words which came from his dying lips that they might 
have been mistaken as coming from the burning lips of the 
cherubim. 

A few rising and setting suns, and the ''chariot of fire" 
again visited that consecrated spot. E'ow it is to carry the 
only daughter, one of the fairest of earth's flowers, the lovely 
Eugenia, (Mrs. King,) to the glory land. She was in the 
prime of young womanhood, united to the husband of her 
heart, and blessed with a cherub babe. But all could not 
hold her here. In her chamber heaven and earth seemed to 
commingle. Her departed friends crowded round her bed : 
she spoke of them, told who they were, how glorious their 
forms : her countenance grew more and more bright, until it 
was quite transfigured, and death was swallowed up in vic- 
tory. "Who does not say, "Let me die the death of the 
righteous ?" 

The Bev. John Lane, in his early manhood, was what is 
generally called handsome. His form was most perfect — a 
model for the sculptor — his features perfectly regular. He 
was slightly under six feet high : intellectual organs finely 
developed : in middle age, slightly bald : finely pencilled 
brow, of darkest brown, and full prominence, shading a dark 
hazel eye of sparkling brilliancy and unusual benignity: 
nose, in due proportion : teeth regular, and perfect to the 
last: lips evincing great good -humor: entire countenance 
usually grave and thoughtful, but often lighted up with the 
blandest smile. His voice was soft and melodious, often had 
a touching sweetness. As he was full of emotion, the pa- 
thetic was his chief power. 



JOHX LANE. 



249 



TVlien lie passed tlie middle of life, lie became sliglitly corpu- 
lent, not to deformity, but sufficient to give to his person tlie 
gracefnl rotundity that makes age agreeable. He was scru- 
pulously cleanly in liis person, and genteel in bis attire, but 
perfectly plain — at an equal distance from tbe dandy and the 
sloven. In the "assembly of the Elders," as he was often 
seen in our G-eneral Conferences, he never failed to make an 
impression on the lookers-on, who would always incj[uire who 
he was. 

His preaching was mild and persuasive, abounding in per- 
tinent anecdote. Sometimes it rose to great earnestness and 
thrilling appeal. Large congregations were often swayed 
and melted by his heavenly pathos. His gestures were few, 
but appropriate and perfectly natural. The modulation of 
his fine voice was perfect. His ffiends who heard him most 
complained that there was not much variety in his discourses. 
This unquestionably originated in the fact that while his 
theological studies were immature, he was plunged into a 
whirlpool of business and embarrassment well calculated to 
divert his mind from these studies. And this state of things 
continued to a greater or less extent through life. He un- 
doubtedly had a mind capable of the highest combinations 
and clearest discrimination. But he was a modest man : had 
not the self-sufficiency that would make him intrude himself 
in every question. Hence he rarely spoke in deliberative 
bodies : when he did speak, it was to the point. His judg- 
ment, seldom at fault, was clear and well informed. 

Brother Lane was a man of great firmness of character. 
Let him believe himself right, and no array of numbers or 
character of his opponents could move him. This was finely 
illustrated in his determination to persevere in his journey 
through the Lidian nation, and in the stand he took in the 



250 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



General Conference of 1820. It was tliat which, would have 
made him a hero if called to the battle-field, or a martyr if 
called to the stake. Yet he had not what would be called a 
strong will where duty or principle was not involved. Such 
were his amiability and desire to please others, that he would 
yield readily where conscience would allow. He was, as has 
been seen, long in the Presiding Elder's office, which is 
one of great delicacy and respansibility, very liable to lead 
to distrust. Such was his uniform urbanity, kindness, and 
impartiality, that I never heard him complained of but once, 
and then an explanation satisfied the brother that he was 
mistaken. 

Benevolence and cheerful hospitality were his distinguish- 
ing characteristics. When he had means in his possession, 
no poor preacher could go without a horse, or coat, or general 
outfit ; no poor widow could be without bread, or the means 
of educating her children. Benevolent institutions of all 
sorts were his debtors. Had he been a millionaire, like Job 
he would have been eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, a 
father to the poor. With his limited means, and often em- 
barrassed, he made many a "widow's heart sing for joy," 
and many an orphan rose to bless him. If his charities were 
great, his hospitality was unbounded. For twenty years after 
he was a housekeeper, he never sat at his own table with his 
family alone. For many years while he lived in the heart of 
Yicksburg, his house was a sort of hotel of hospitality. 
Brethren in the ministry of all denominations, and friends 
from all quarters and every condition in life, found cheerful 
admittance. JSTo amount of inconvenience ever put a frown 
upon the cheerful brow of either host or hostess. At the 
Conference of 1832, he entertained from twenty-five to thirty 
of the preachers in attendance, besides other friends. At ten 



JOHN LANE. 



251 



o'clock at niglit, I knew of liis having to purcliase a bale of 
blankets to meet tbe unexpected demand. 

A friend of Brotber Lane writes to me, " He was preemi- 
nently a Churcb man." The Methodist branch of the Church 
was his hearty, his unequivocal choice. Without bigotry in 
his own opinions, or hostility to any other branch of Christ's 
Church, he clave to Methodism with an undying attachment. 
Never could one say with more truth than he : 

" For her, my tears shall fall, 
For her, my prayers ascend, 
To her, my cares and toils be given, 
Till toils and cares shall end." 

I^or was it any remodelled, modernized, reformed, and im- 
proved association at whose shrine he worshipped with such 
devotion. It was the pure, simple, God -approved form of 
Methodism which came down to us from our fathers. To 
work the old system well, with him was better than to try 
new experiments. 

In his social relations he was peculiarly agreeable. "With 
little children he was mirthful, playful as one of themselves. 
Hence he was a great favorite. "With a company of Christian 
friends, and especially of Methodist preachers, he relaxed 
into the blandest good-humor: full of anecdote, which he 
told in good style, he was the life of the company. His 
friendships were strong and undying, ^^"o change of fortune, 
though he was greatly injured by that change, changed his 
attachments. He never forsook, rarely ever lost a friend. 

His domestic relations were about as perfect as falls to the 
lot of mortals. He never seemed to lose the ardor of first 
love for the companion of his joys and sorrows. Her pre- 
sence and that of his children was his earthly paradise. But 
his affection for his children was not the foolish fondness that 



252 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



lets tlie young masters do as tliey choose : it was tlie rational 
love of a Cliristian fatlier wlio felt that lie was responsible to 
rule well his own house. He did govern them absolutely, 
peremptorily; but such was the affection and mildness of 
that government that even correction attached them the more 
to him. The family-altar was never thrown down or neg- 
lected, and all the children were required to be present at the 
offering of the morning and evening sacrifice. As a result 
of this kind of government, he had the unspeakable happi- 
ness to see all of his children members of the Church. Two 
have gone to join him in the better land ; the other two, we 
trust, are on the way. An intimate friend of the family says 
he never had the mortification of an act of flagrant immoral- 
ity from one of his children. Happy father ! may God bless 
his descendants to the latest generation ! 

His domestics were governed, but with the same kind hand 
that governed his children. Old 3f aster is now the greatest 
saint in all their calendar. If they dream of heaven, it is to 
see Old Master in his white robes. 

His personal piety was like the rest of his character — 
consistent. It was deep, sincere, earnest : no fanaticism, no 
Pharisaism — evangelical to the last degree. His whole char- 
acter was a beautiful model. 

His death has made a wide chasm in the social and re- 
ligious circles in Yicksburg and in the Mississippi Confer- 
ence. Few men have been called from among us whose 
death sent such a dagger to so many hearts. But he is not 
lost, but gone before. Heaven is more attractive to many by 
his removal. " There all the ship's company will soon meet." 
May I be there ! 



RICHMOI^D NOLLEY. 



253 



HICHMOiTD iTOLLET. 

BY THE EEV. H. N. M'TYEIRE. 

The Bible tells that once the grave of a prophet of God 
was opened, and his bones disturbed, with striking effect 
following: "And when the man was let down, and touched 
the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." 
2 Kings xiii. 21. 

Louisiana has been the Macedonia of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. Her itinerant preachers crossed the Missis- 
sippi river in quest of souls into Attakapas and Opelousas. 
It is now half a century since. There Protestantism planted 
its first churches west of the Mississippi. Eichmond ]N"olley 
bore a part in this pioneer movement, and was the first to 
die in it. 

Providence seemed to open the way ; yet the gospel plough- 
share never struck into harder soil than south-western Louisi- 
ana. "Within a short time the territory had been under three 
governments, two of which favored the Eoman Catholic 
establishment. The mass of people spoke the French lan- 
guage, and were prejudiced against the doctrines of the 
Eeformation. They were either professed Catholics, or 
infidels, after the school of French philosophy. Elsewhere 
the West was virgin soil : here it had been sown with tares. , 



254 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

Shortly after the cession of Louisiana to the United States, 
the old Western Conference took into consideration the 
religious condition of its inhabitants, which was lamentable 
indeed. A brave, godly man volunteered. Elisha W. Bow- 
man was sent by Bishop Asbury to hunt out the American 
settlements, and make a beginning among them. There is a 
private letter of his that is of historic importance, and not 
irrelevant to a biographical sketch of one of his successors. 
It was written " to the Eev, William Burke, Lexington, Ky.," 
and postmarked "[N'atchez, Miss." 

" Dear Brother : These pages will inform you that I found 
a safe passage through a perilous wilderness to the city of 
Orleans. This city lies extremely low, the surface of the 
river being as high as the streets, and is kept out by a levee 
which is cast up immediately on the bank, and from its low 
situation it is as filthy as a hog-sty. As for the settlements 
of this country, there are none that are composed of Ameri- 
cans. 

"From Baton Rouge, the Spanish garrison, which stands 
on the east bank of the Mississippi river, down two hundred 
miles, it' is settled immediately on each bank of the river by 
French and Spaniards. The land is dry on each side about 
forty, and in some places fifty rods wide, and then a cypress 
swamp extends each way to the lakes, and will never admit 
of any settlements until you cross the lakes to the east and 
west. 

"When I reached the city, I was much disappointed in 
finding but few American people there, and a majority of 
that few may truly be called the beasts of men. There are 
a few families that are called respectable, and these are Epis- 
copalians, and they have a preacher of their own, a Mr. 



RICHMOND NOLLE Y. 255 

Cliase, from Baltimore, [afterward Bishop Chase, of Illinois.] 
He arrived in this city about the time I left the Con- 
ference. 

"Mr. Watson, the gentleman to whom I was recommended 
by Mr. Asbury, had left the city early in the fall, and had 
gone home to Philadelphia. I went to the Grovernor, and 
told him my business to that place. He promised me protec- 
tion, and told me I should have the Capitol of the city to 
preach in, which he said should be at my service. My 
appointment was published for the next Lord's day; but in 
the interval I found that the parson and his people were not 
very well pleased. On Sunday, when I came to the Capitol, 
I found the doors all locked, and the house inaccessible. I 
found a few drunken sailors and Frenchmen about the walks 
of the house, and I preached to them in the open air. In 
the evening I heard that my Episcopalian brethren were at 
the bottom of all this. 

" The next day I went to the Governor and Mayor of the 
city, and informed them how I had been treated : they then 
promised me to issue an order for the house to be ojpened 
and placed at my service. The next Sunday, when I came 
with my landlord and a few others, we found the doors again 
locked, and I again preached to ten or twelve persons in the 
open air. I went again to the officers, but got no satisfaction. 
In the evening, as I passed along the street, I heard them 
pouring out heavy curses on the Methodist, and saying, "He 
is a Methodist: lock him out;" and they told me plainly 
I was not to have the privilege of the house. One of the 
officers told me that the Methodists were a dangerous people, 
and ought to be discouraged. I asked him what harm the 
Methodists had done : he said they were seeking an establish- 
ment. I told him it was an unjust censure : he got into a 



256 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

passion, and I left liim. The next Sunday I preached to a 
few straggling people in the open street. 

The Lord's day is the day of general rant in this city: 
public balls are held, merchandise of every kind is carried 
on, public sales, wagons running, and drums beating; and 
thus is the Sabbath spent. 

" I sought in vain for a house to preach in. Several persons 
offered to rent me a house, but I have not money to rent a 
house. My expenses I found to be about two dollars a day 
for myself and horse, and my money pretty well spent. I 
tried to sell my horse, but could not get forty dollars for him. 
Thus I was in this difficult situation, without a friend to 
advise me. I was three hundred miles from Brother Black- 
man, and could get no advice from him ; and what to do I 
did not know. I could have no access to the people, and to 
go back to Xatchez is to do nothing, as there was a sufficient 
supply of preachers for that part ; and to leave my station 
without Mr. Asbury's direction was like death to me, and to 
stay here I could do nothing. But by inquiring, I heard of 
a settlement of American people about two hundred miles to 
the west and north-west. By getting a small boat, and cross- 
ing the lakes, I could reach the Opelousas country ; and as I 
was left to think by myself, I thought this most advisable. 
I accordingly, on the ITth day of December, shook off the 
dirt from my feet against this ungodly city of Orleans, and 
resolved to try the watery waste and pathless desert. 

I travelled fifty miles up the Mississippi river, and crossed 
to a river that forces itself out of the Mississippi, and runs 
into the sea in a south-west direction ; down which river I 
travelled fifty miles, and then turned a western course fifteen 
miles, through a cypress swamp, to the lake. Here the mos- 
quitoes like to have eaten up me and my horse. 



RICHMOND NOLLE Y. 257 

" Here are a few Spaniards living on this lake. I got two 
large canoes of tliem, and built a platform on tliem, on which 
I put my horse. I hired two of the Spaniards to go with me 
across the lakes, for which I paid them thirteen dollars and a 
half, and through the mercy of God I had a safe passage 
through four lakes and a large bay. Here I saw an old 
Spaniard boiling salt on a small island. I landed a little 
south of the mouth of the river O'Tash. Here a few French- 
men are living at the mouth of this river, and a few American 
families are scattered along this bay and river, who came 
here in the time of the American war, but not for any good 
deeds they had done. I have now three dollars left, but God 
is as able to feed me two years on two dollars, as he was to 
feed Elijah at the brook, or five thousand with a few loaves 
and fishes. 

"I travelled up the west side of the river O'Tash eighty 
miles. The land is dry immediately on the banks of this 
river, and about twenty rods wide, with cypress extending to 
the sea-marsh. On the east side of it are lakes and swamps. 
Eighty miles up there is a large French settlement. A few 
families of Americans are scattered among them, but I could 
not find two families together. 

''I then passed through a small tribe of Indians, and then 
crossed the Yermilion river, which runs into the sea in a 
south-west direction. Here I had a fine sea-breeze. The 
next day I reached the Opelousas country, and the next I 
reached the Catholic church. I was surprised to see a pair 
of race paths at the church door. 

" Here I found a few Americans, who were swearing with 
almost every breath ; and when I reproved them for swearing, 
they told me that the priest swore as hard as they did. They 
said he would play cards and dance with them every Sunday 
17 



258 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



evening, after mass ! And, strange to tell, lie keeps a race- 
horse ! in a word, practices every abomination. I told them 
plainly, if they did not quit swearing, they and their priest 
would go to hell together. 

''About twenty miles from this place, I found a settlement 
of American people who came to this country about the time 
of the American war. They know very little more about the 
nature of salvation than the untaught Indians. Some of 
them, after I had preached to them, asked me what I meant 
by the fall of man, and when it was that he fell. Thus they 
are perishing for lack of knowledge, and are truly in a pitia- 
ble condition. I have to learn them to sing, and in fact do 
every thing that is like worshipping God. I find it also very 
difficult to get them to attend meetings ; for, if they come 
once, they think they have done me a very great favor. 

"About thirty miles from here, I found another small settle- 
ment of English people, who were in as great a state of 
ignorance as the above ; but I get as many of them together 
as I can, and preach Jesus Christ to them. 0, my God ! have 
mercy on the souls of this people. 

"I find the people very much dissatisfied with the Ameri- 
can Government, and we have a constant talk of war. The 
Spaniards are fortifying themselves all round the coast ; and 
three-fourths of the people hope they will get this country 
again. This I hope will never be the case. 

" Three-fourths of the inhabitants of this country, I suppose, 
are French. And as to the country, it is entirely level, and, 
I suppose, three-fourths prairie. The people are rich in 
cattle. They have from one to two and three thousand head 
of cattle to a farmer; and, notwithstanding their large 
stocks, you might with ease carry on your back all that you 
could find in many of their houses. 



EICHMOND NOLLE Y. 



259 



"It is now tlie 29tli day of Jaiinaiy, and, from tlie great 
quantity of rain tliat has fallen, and the low situation of this 
country, it is almost everywhere in a flood of water. Every 
day that I travel, I have to swim through creeks or swamps, 
and I am wet from my head to my feet ; and some days, from 
morning till night, I am dripping with water. I tie all my 
plunder fast on my horse, and take him by the bridle, and 
swim sometimes a hundred yards, and sometimes farther. 
My horse's legs are now skinned and rough to his hock 
joints, and I have the rheumatism in all my joints. But this 
is nothing. 

"About eighty miles from here, I am informed, there is a 
considerable settlement of American people ; but I cannot 
get to them at this time, as the swamps are swimming for 
miles ; but as soon as the waters fall, I intend to visit them. 
I have great difficulties in this country, as there are no laws 
to suppress vice of any kind ; so that the Sabbath is ^pent in 
frolicking and gambling. 

"I have now given you a faint idea of my travels, the 
country, and the people. Let me now tell you how it is with 
my soul. What I have suffered in body and mind my pen is 
not able to communicate to you. But this I can say : while 
my body is wet with water and chilled with cold, my soul is 
filled with heavenly fire, and longs to be with Christ. And 
while these periods drop from my pen, my soul is ready to 
leave this earthly house, and fly to endless rest. Glory to 
God and the Lamb ! I can say that I never enjoyed such a 
power and heaven of love as I have done for a few days past. 
I have not a wish but that the will of God may be done in 
me, through me, and by me. And I can now say with St. 
Paul, that ' I count not my life dear unto me, so that I may 
save some.' I feel my soul all alive to God, and flUed with 



260 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



love to all tlie liuman family. I am now more tlian one 
tliousand miles from you, and know not tliat I ever shall see 
you again ; but I hope to meet you one day on tlie banks of 
Canaan, in the land of rest. 

"I am your suffering brother in the bonds of a peaceful 
gospel, Elisha Bowman. 

"Opelousas, January 29, 1806. 

"P. S. Pardon my scratch, as I have to write on my knee, 
and a man is waiting at my elbow for these lines. Pray for 
me. I wrote to you, but heard that letter was lost. — E. B." 

Making allowance for dates, does not that "scratch," 
written on the knee, read like a chapter in the Acts of the 
Apostles ? How could such a man fail ? Whether the two 
dollars held out or not, so it was, he stayed two years, and 
reported to Conference two circuits formed. The second 
year, he was joined by a true yokefellow — Thomas Lasley. 

While these pioneers are laying out circuits, the Lord is 
raising up laborers to fill them. The parents of Kichmond 
I^olley had moved from Brunswick County, Virginia, where 
he was born, to Georgia, and soon after died. 

The orphan was taken into the care of Captain Lucas, a 
merchant of Sparta, Georgia, and member of the Methodist 
Church. Here he found a kind home, and, at a proper age, 
was introduced into the store. Li this position, he had the 
companionship of Urban Cooper, a fellow-clerk. At Smyrna, 
six or eight miles from Sparta, a camp-meeting was held in 
1806. An immense crowd — estimated at ten thousand — 
attended. It was impossible for them all to be seated under 
the arbor; so a strong, young preacher was detailed to an 
opening near the camp-ground, there to preach to as many 
as might gather around him. Lovick Pierce stood upon a 



RICHMOND NOLLEY. 261 

table, and announced liis text: Romans vi. 6 — "Knowing 
this, tliat our old man is crucified with him, that the body 
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not 
serve sin." To get the attention of his promiscuous assem- 
bly, the preacher began with rather a facetious description of 
the "old man;" and, having attracted his hearers, proceeded 
to give a shocking account of his conduct, crimes, and excesses . 
He then sent Moses forth as the high sheriff of the realm, 
who arrested him. Having described his trial and condemna- 
tion, he sentenced the "old man" to be crucified. Reared 
upon the accursed tree, his crucifixion was begun, when 
suddenly a young lady, as if pierced by an arrow, ran weeping 
from the outskirts of the audience, and falling near the table, 
cried for mercy, and entreated the prayers of those around. 
The preacher immediately stopped his sermon, and called for 
mourners. A simultaneous movement toward him followed. 
The people fell upon their knees, and groans, and praise, and 
prayers were mingled. This work continued during the 
remainder of the day and the succeeding night. Over one 
hundred souls professed conversion around that table. The 
young lady was the daughter of Captain Lucas. Among the 
converts were the two young clerks. 

An eye-witness* describes the subsequent appearance of 
the lady portion of the congregation as rather ludicrous. 
The soil was colored, and rain had very lately fallen. Kneel- 
ing and prostration upon the ground hopelessly damaged 
hundreds of yards of silk, and fine clothes generally, 

Richmond ^^olley remained with his friend and benefactor 
till the next year. After essaying those lighter exercises by 
which our Church discovers and cultivates the gifts of con- 



* The venerable Reddick Pierce, brother of the preacher who officiated. 



262 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



verts, lie was received, December 28, 1807, into tlie travelling 
connection, and sent to Edisto Circuit, South Carolina Con- 
ference. All who remember him, speak of his patient and 
punctual toil, and particularly of his attention to the children, 
and the sick and aged. Here, doubtless, he learned to in- 
clude the slaves, not only in his prayers, but his teachings — 
a practice he kept up everywhere, and that gave him many 
seals among these poor. 

In 1809, he was stationed in Wilmington, E"orth Carolina. 
Here, besides unremitting attention to his duties in town, he 
had appointments in the country. One was on the east side 
of Cape Fear river, on the Topsail Sound, among the pilots 
and fishermen. His labors at this out-of-the-way place, 
directed by the pure love of souls, were greatly blessed : a 
powerful revival developed itself, and a flourishing society. 
After building a church, it was connected with the "Wilming- 
ton Station, but subsequently formed part of the Topsail 
Circuit. 

The year following, he labored in Charleston. His co- 
laborers in the station, W. M. Kennedy and Thomas Mason, 
w^ere popular men and preachers. There was a revival that 
3^ear. But ITolley was under the weather. He had a hard 
time of it : he was the butt of the persecution then dealt to 
Methodists. Often fire-crackers were thrown back of him 
into the pulpit, and once while he was at prayer. It is said 
he had a way here of shutting his eyes after taking his text, 
and keeping them closed to the end of his sermon. 

A field awaited him where things had to be looked in the 
face. Wliile I^olley was taking his first lessons on the Edisto 
and among the sailors of Topsail Sound, James Axley was 
on the Opelousas Circuit. He was a character — one of the 
epresentative men. Able to make his mark anywhere, even 



RICHMOND NOLLE Y. 



263 



Axley found all Ms powers of physical endurance, his ready 
perception, strong common sense, and zeal, tasked in the 
work. Some of the scenes passed through were vividly nar- 
rated by himself near the close of his life. 

One evening, after riding all day without any dinner, he 
called at a house where the family consisted of a widow lady, 
a grown-up daughter, a number of children, and some ser- 
vants, none of whom were religious. The lady and her family 
regretted his coming, and would not grant his request to 
remain over night. 'No, he could not stay : they would have 
no such cattle about them. But he was loth to leave : the 
reason was, he knew, if defeated in obtaining lodging there, 
nothing remained for him but a berth in the dark wood, 
without food or shelter, in an inclement season of the year. 
As he lingered a little to warm himself, and consider how he 
should manage to pass that dreary night, the thought of his 
forlorn condition as a homeless stranger, vvithout money or 
friends, came like a dark cloud over his mind. His deep, 
sad cogitations proceeded in silence. Then, as was natural 
in the extremity, he turned his thoughts toward his Heavenly 
Father's house above, where he hoped some day to find a home 
free from the ills of mortal life. Being a little cheered with 
the prospect, without leave, introduction, or ceremony, he 
began to sing one of the songs of Zion in a strange land : 

"Peace, troubled soul, thou need'st not fear. 
Thy great Provider still is near.'" 

As he proceeded, his depressed feelings became elevated : 
the vision of faith ranged above and beyond the desolate 
wilderness he had just been contemplating as the place of 
his night's sojourn. The famil}^ were soon all melted into 
tears : the lady called a servant, and ordered him to put the 



264 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



gentleman's liorse into tlie stable ; and the dangliter added, 
"Be sure you feed him well." 

In 1812, four young men on horseback are on the road to 
the West. They travel cheerfully on. 'No land speculation 
nor greed of gain — no vision of worldly fame — is before 
their eyes. Behind, are homes, parents, brothers, sisters, 
friends : before, strangers, wanderings, wide circuits, appoint- 
ments unknown till announced, and no salaries — only a 
subsistence. They are missionaries from the South Carolina 
Conference to Mississippi and Louisiana. The Episcopacy 
sees the want, and calls for volunteers : the itinerancy, in 
genuine vitality, pulsates, and life is thrown from the heart 
to the extremities. The missionaries are Thomas Griffin, 
Lewis Hobbs, Drury Powell, and Richmond I^oUey. 

Arriving at Milledgeville, Georgia, it is necessary to get 
passports from the Governor to go through the Indian ITations. 
The Indians having been tampered with and wronged by 
evil men, it is difficult to keep them at peace. The mission- 
aries represent to his Excellency what sort of men they are. 
He is satisfied: their papers are made out, signed, and 
given them, and they, with a bow, are retiring. " Stop, 
brethren," says jN'olley; "the Governor has given us pass- 
ports through the Indian I^'ations. Let us now ask God to 
give him a passport from this world to a better." The Gov- 
ernor and his Secretary were called to their knees, and they 
prayed there. 

Passing through a wilderness of three hundred and fifty 
miles, swimming deep creeks, and lying out eleven nights, 
IToUey arrived at his appointment — the Tombigbee Mis- 
sion. 

How beautiful that band of young men, going to cultivate 
Immanuel's lands ! It would be interesting to follow out 



RICHMOXD XOLLET. 265 

tlieir histories. Hobbs was a lovely spirit. He was called 
the "weeping prophet." He shed tears over sinners while 
he warned them. A year or two afterwards he was stationed 
in Isew Orleans, where his last strength was spent. He sank 
into consumption, and barely got back home to die. 

Their appointments scattered them widely. Griffin's was 
on the Ouachita. He proved a chosen vessel of the Lord. 
Few have been so honored in planting Methodism in the 
South-west. He lived to a good old age, and his memory 
is blessed by thousands. TVliile XoUey persuaded sinners^ 
and Hobbs wept over them, Griffi.n made them quail and 
shrink, and hide their faces in fear and shame. There was a 
clear, metallic ring in his nature. TTithout the advantages 
of fortune or education, he made his way by stronger forces. 
By the camp-fire, on the forest-path, he studied. One of the 
saddlebags-men — to whom TTestern civilization is more in- 
debted than to any other class of agents — he mastered the 
hardy elements of frontier life : sagacious in judgment, de- 
cisive in action, strong in speech, generous-hearted. He 
was a delegate from Mississippi to the General Conference 
of 1826. The agitation which has since rent the Church, 
was already begun. His practical eye detected the issue. 
The speeches of Northern delegates assumed the sinfulness 
of slavery as a foregone conclusion. Their epithets, applied 
to slaveholders, were by no means to his taste. Those of 
Southern delegates pleased him little better. Their tone was 
excusatory rather than defensive. To use his own expression, 
"They were too much like suppliants to suit my feelings." 
He made an off-hand speech, which, whatever else it lacked, 
was not lacking in point or energy of expression. "It 
appears," said he, "that some of our ^isTorthern brethren are 
willing to see us all damned and double-damned, rammed, 



266 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



crammed, and jammed into a forty-six pounder, and toucTied 
off into eternity !" 

Two years I^olley spent on the Tombigbee Mission, cover- 
ing ground now divided into Circuits and Districts. They 
were years of peril as well as toil. He stopped not for wet 
or cold. If his horse was out of the way, he took his saddle- 
bags on his shoulder, and walked, calling and praying at 
every house in his way where he could obtain permission. 
Sometimes, in this, he met rude repulses. He not only 
preached, but catechized the children. His diligent in- 
struction of children, in every place, was not only commend- 
able, but characteristic. He was in advance, on that subject, 
even of this generation, with its Sunday-school statistics, 
and papers, and organizations. To Peter James, the preacher 
who succeeded him on the Tombigbee, he gave a list 
of the children, by name, under instruction and pastoral 
care. His parting charge, as each turned away to his new 
Circuit, was, "Xow, Brother James, be sure to look after 
those children." The blacks were not forgotten. He in- 
structed them also in the things of God. 

The Indians broke out into hostilities, and the people, 
deserting their homes and plantations, took to forts, l^^olley 
never stopped, but rather made use of these forted gatherings 
for preaching the word. From fort to fort the pale messen- 
ger of peace passed, comforting, encouraging, instructing 
the people. Whether fortunately preserved from collision 
with the savages, or whether they were restrained by the 
Divine interdict, " Touch not mine anointed, and do my 
prophets no harm," so it was, no harm befell him ; and when 
the forts were abandoned, the pastor had been endeared to 
all hearts ; and, what was of more concern to him, the gospel 
had sounded abroad through all that country. On this Mis- 



KICHMOND NOLLE T. 267 

eioii occurred tlie original of wliat is now told, with some 
variety of place and circumstance. The informant (Thomas 
Clinton) subsequently labored in that region, and, though a 
generation has passed, he is not forgotten there. In making 
the rounds of his work, IToUey came upon a fresh wagon- 
track. On the search for any thing that had a soul, he fol- 
lowed it, and came upon the emigrant family just as it had 
pitched on the ground of the future home. The man was 
unlimbering his team, and the wife was busy around the fire. 
"What!" exclaimed the settler, upon hearing the salutation 
of the visitor, and taking a glance at his unmistakable ap- 
pearance, "have you found me already? Another Methodist 
preacher ! I quit Virginia to get out of reach of them : 
went to a new settlement in Georgia, and thought to have a 
long whet, but they got my wife and daughter into the 
Church. Then, in this late purchase — Choctaw Corner — I 
found a piece of good land, and was sure I would have some 
peace of the preachers ; and here is one before my wagon is 
unloaded." 

ISTolley gave him small comfort. "My friend, if you go to 
heaven, you '11 find Methodist preachers there ; and if to hell, 
I am afraid you '11 find some there ; and you see how it is in 
this world. So you had better make terms with us, and be 
at peace." 

He was appointed to Attakapas and Opelousas in 1814. 
There are now aged Christians who retain an affectionate 
remembrance of him. In 1810, one"^ went to reside on the 
Bayou Teche,t seven miles from the present town of Frank- 
lin. Her house was what is so often gratefully mentioned by 
them in obituaries — the preachers' home. Often Kolley 



■'^ Martha Skinner. 



f The O'Tash mentioned in Mr. Bowman's letter. 



268 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



rested tliere, saying, as lie crossed tlie tliresliold, Peace be 
on this liouse." The word of the Lord was precious in those 
days. Deprived of religions privileges, this lady often sat, 
of evenings, on the banks of the Teche, hoping to hear 
among the songs of boatmen a Methodist song, or something 
like one. 

The house of a pious old Dutchman was used, in that 
neighborhood, for a preaching place. Hargreider was a 
Methodist. Blessed be the Dutch ! In the history of our 
struggling Church, how often the ark has rested in the lowly 
habitation of some Dutchman with a hard name, and steady 
as a mud-sill. Somebody has remarked that, of all people in 
the world, when once converted, a Dutchman and a Guinea 
negro stand the fastest. 

A memorable love-feast was held in the spring of 1815, at 
Hargreider' s — memorable to Sister S. Her cup was full and 
ran over, and we see Xolley in one of his old ways, left off 
since leaving Charleston. She had come nine miles, in a 
peroque, and Sister Eice had come twenty, by land, to that 
meeting. They sat under a live-oak tree, talking about the 
goodness of God to their souls, the love of Jesus, and the 
consolations of the Spirit. One of the two was sorrowful — 
the other's state so outran hers I But the fields began to 
look greener, and all nature gladder, as they communed. 
The peace that passeth understanding flowed into and over- 
flowed the soul, rising to the joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. ''0, Sister E., I am so happy I" The meeting had 
begun, and the happy one, so late cast down, got happier as 
she entered the Dutch chapel, and went all round, shaking 
hands and praising the Lord. After the lapse of forty years, 
she recollects only one object distinctly seen in the congre- 
gation, and that was - dear Brother Xollev." There he sat, 



RICHMOND NOLLE Y. 



269 



in the place wliere the pulpit might be, leaning back with a 
"saint-like smile," those eyes shut, and the tears streaming 
down his face. 

The boy who rowed her to meeting had a wonderful tale 
to tell the folks at home : how he saw Miss Peggy dancing 
in the meeting! 

"And how should you know so much, when the doors were 
closed?" 

""Wliy," said he, naively, ''Brother E'olley, he come out, 
and talked a heap of good talk to me, and told me to go in." 

Poor Hannibal, six years after, was swept away by an inun- 
dation, and quickly lost; but he had had, at least, " one good 
talk ' ' from him who thought it always in order to save a soul. 

Sister Pice had been brought up with a prejudice against 
Methodists and a "feeling religion;" but had given in to 
both, a few years before, while hearing the Presiding Elder, 
Sellers, sing : 

"When I was sinking down, 
Christ laid aside his crown, 
For my soul." 

In this winning, melting art of devotion, Methodist preach- 
ers were once more powerful than now. Persons going to 
hear them, went without a stereotyped programme : 

"Perhaps it might turn out a sang; 
Perhaps turn out a sermon." 

It was pretty certain to turn out both ; and not unfrequently 
the song did an execution of which the sermon failed. 

After the death of the preacher, these two sisters met again 
and talked about him, and wept. One said, "It may not be 
right, but somehow, whenever I do wrong, I feel as if Brother 



270 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

ISTolley looked down reproachfully on me." "I feel so, too," 
was tlie reply. 

Once, at St. Martinsville, ITolley was preaching in the 
Court-house, and some lewd fellows of the baser sort took 
him forcibly from the stand, and w^ere on their way to the 
bayou, to duck him. A singular deliverer was provided : a 
negro woman, armed with a hoe, rescued him out of their 
hands, took the exhausted preacher in her arms back to the 
house, and put him in the stand: ''There now, preach." 
Once, a sugar-planter (it is spoken of to this day) drove him 
away from his smoke-stack, where he craved to warm him- 
self. 

His punctuality, whether to visit or preach by appointment, 
was proverbial. On one of the rounds of his four-hundred- 
mile Circuit, he called at the house of a friendly family, Mr. 
H., waked them up, and inquired after their welfare. 
""Wouldn't he stay all night?" 'No: he had promised to 
stay with a family two miles farther on. And on he went. 
The man who had no wife and children, and but few and 
distant kindred, yet had a loving heart. "What might not 
happen to the households he visited, preached to, and 
prayed for, in his long absences ? Sin, sickness, death were 
abroad, and he had often seen sudden and sad changes 
wrought by them. Trifling as the circumstance may seem, 
it gives an insight of character. It is no trifle for a family to 
have an interest in such a pastor's prayers. 

lie was preaching in the town of Opelousas, and Judge 
Lewis and family were present. Service over, Judge L.* 
invited the preacher home with him. He had engaged to 
go elsewhere that day, and declined, but accepted their 



* Seth Lewis, for twenty-seven years one of the Judges of Louisiana. 



RICHMOND NOLLE Y. 271 

invitation to spend the niglit at tlieir house when next he 
came round. 

Time rolled on. The Saturday evening arrived. Judge 
L. was from home. A large and gay dancing party had 
assembled. The fashionables of old Opelousas were out in 
their best style, and fiddling and dancing were going on 
merrily. About sunset, a servant ran into the house, in 
greatest excitement, and whispered to Mrs. Lewis, The 
preacher! the preacher's come!" Mrs L. recollected the 
invitation ! 

Those who are skilful in getting up agreeable company, 
have an eye to differences in taste, habits, and capacities. 
Persons of the same profession and way of thinking are not 
likely to entertain each other with various conversation. 
But there is a limit to differences, and here it was. ^^olley 
had been invited in his character as Methodist preacher, and 
in that character he had come. He was not the man to drop 
it, and, chameleon-like, to take his color from the crowd. 
There he stood, full six feet high, lean and pale with fasts 
and vigils, his looks a very rebuke to all vain and worldly 
amusements." The broad-brim hat and shad-belly coat! 
think of them, in contrast with the big collars and swallow- 
tails that adorned the dancing gentlemen of that day. Think 
of that solitary figure in the background of all this finery, 
fashion, and frivolity. Out of his deep-set, black eyes he 
looked kindly but not approvingly on the scene. Perhaps, 
for a moment, he closed those eyes. Mrs. Lewis introduced 
him formally to the company. 

Here was a fix. Two sorts of company — both specially 
invited. But a well-bred and spirited woman is equal to the 
emergency. Mrs. L. had never read the Discipline ; but she 
had been brought up in Virginia, and knew that Methodist 



272 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



preachers set tlieir faces against dancing. She ordered the 
sable and jolly fiddler to clear out, and not to let his fiddle 
be heard again. Dancing being mildly but firmly interdicted, 
the company set about playing at cross-questions, pawns, etc., 
and politely invited the preacher to join, which he as politely 
declined. Mrs. L. charged herself especially with his enter- 
tainment. Pulling out his watch, " My friends, it is now ten 
o'clock. You invited me to join you: I invite you to join 
me. Let us have prayers." Prayers were had, not omitting 
the hymn, and the company dispersed. At the mention of 
prayers, there was a murmur of dissent from some. A dis- 
tinguished lawyer spoke out, "It will never do to let that 
man pray here." But Mrs. L. put an end to debate by order- 
ing the candle-stand and Bible. 

The next preacher that followed I^olley took Judge Lewis 
and his wife into the Church. They were, in piety and in- 
fluence, its ornaments and pillars. They have rejoined their 
guest of that evening in the spirit-land, and their sons and 
daughters do follow in their footsteps. 

iN'olley went up to Conference with a good report. The 
Minutes show an increase of the membership by one-third. 
One person at least is now living (there may be others) who 
was converted and received into the Church under his minis- 
try. The sower's diligence is witnessed by even a solitary 
stalk standing after a generation of time's reaping. 

It was thought the interests of the Church required his 
return. IsTews travelled slow at that time, even bad news. 
The faithful looked for the preacher that was to be sent them 
by Conference. He came not. And then the report reached 
them that their last year's preacher had been sent back, and, 
on his way from Conference to the Circuit, perished. 

Accompanied by his Presiding Elder, Thomas Griffin, he 



RICHMOND NOLLEY. 



273 



(Crossed tke Mississippi swamp and the Ouacliita. The 
weather was wet and cold. It was the 24th of l!^'ovember, 
1815. They were passing up the country to avoid Hemphill 
Creek, a fitful and dangerous stream. This would make the 
journey several days longer. ITolley, anxious to reach his 
work, resolved to push straight through; so they parted. 
There was no white person living on his path. In the even- 
ing, he came to a village of Indians, near the creek, and, 
procuring a guide, proceeded to the ford, and found the 
stream swollen, as he feared. Leaving behind his valise, 
saddlebags, and a parcel of books, he attempted to ride it. 
The current bore his horse down : the banks were steep, and 
he could not get out. In the struggle, he and his horse 
parted. He got hold of a bush, and pulled himself out. 
His horse swam back to the shore from which they started. 
Directing the Indian to keep his horse till morning, he started 
for the nearest habitation, about two miles distant. 

He had gone but a little way, when the angels met him. 
With sweet surprise, i^oUey found himself in the land of 
Beulah, though in a dreary swamp of Louisiana. Beholding 
the " shining ones," he doubtless exclaimed with him of old, 
"This is God's host." 

Fancy must supply what history fails to record, for there 
were none present save those from the sky. It was Friday, 
his fast-day. Chilled and exhausted — the cold and darkness 
every moment becoming intenser — he sank down about three- 
fourths of a mile from the ford. He seemed conscious of his 
approaching end. His knees were muddy, and the prints of 
them were in the ground, showing what his last exercise had 
been. Having commended his soul to God, with what sense 
of the nearness of heaven it may be supposed, he laid him 
down at the roots of a clump of pines. The itinerant preacher 
18 



274 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



received his discharge. There lay our beloved !N"olley, on the 
cold ground and wet leaves, at full length, his eyes neatly 
closed, his left hand on his breast, and his right a little 
fallen off. 

Rest is sweet to the weary. The solitary spot, the gloomy 
surroundings, were not incompatible with finishing his course 
with joy. Unlike Elijah, it was not his to divide the waters ; 
but the chariot and horses of fire were doubtless ready for 
him. Hail, happy spirit, hail ! 

A traveller next day, about four o'clock, found the corpse. 
The neighbors collected, and bore the frozen form to the 
house where it was supposed he aimed to go. A widow and 
her daughters made the shroud, and on Sabbath he was 
buried. The place where he was buried is in Catahoula 
Parish, near the road leading from Alexandria to Harrison- 
burg, and about twenty miles from the latter place. ITo 
monument of any kind marks it. The locality, long in 
doubt, has been recently identified ; persons who assisted at 
the burial being present. The Louisiana Conference, at its 
session in Franklin, 1855, resolved to erect a plain and sub- 
stantial monument over this grave and others of ministers 
who have been buried in the bottoms of the Mississippi, 
along the bayous, and in the interior, but 

<' Whose ashes lie 
No marble tells us where." 

On the 19th of May, 1856, three members of the Confer- 
ence, in pursuance of this design, sought out the long- 
neglected and almost-forgotten spot, marked it, and, kneeling 
down, consecrated themselves afresh to the same ministry 
of faith, and patience, and love. These forty years the recol- 
lection of l!Tolley has quickened the zeal of his brethren. 



KICHMOND NOLLEY. 275 

From tliat mound of eartli, in the fenceless old field, a voice 
has spoken, "Be faithful." In the minds of the people, the 
effect was profound and conciliating. 

Richmond JSTolley was only thirty years old at his death. 
He was never married. His parents were Methodists, and. 
his associations fortunate for his moral character. One re- 
marked to him pleasantly, "E'olley, you do not know how to 
preach to sinners : you can't track them out by experience, 
like me." He kept his body under, perhaps to excess; not 
allowing it sufficient rest and food for the best working con- 
ditions. Every morning he was up at four o'clock — at prayer, 
at reading, at work. His emaciated frame offered excuses 
for relaxation, which he refused to accept. A sister said, 
"Your health must be very bad." "It is natural for me to 
look so," he replied; "on the contrary, I have the best of 
health." The directions laid down in the Discipline for a 
preacher, he followed literally. His manner seemed to say, 
"The Lord is at hand," "the Judge standeth at the door." 
Constitutional feebleness was upborne by a heavenly zeal. 
His temperament called for those occasional depressions and 
heart-sinkings in which the Christian puts to the proof that 
text, " My heart and my flesh faileth, but God is the strength 
of my heart." 

It is not claimed that he was strong, or learned, or elo- 
quent. He was not. In the intellectual scale, barely medio- 
cre : in letters, knowing enough to prosecute such researches 
as he had time and use for: in utterance, not gifted. To 
claim more, either for the truth of this sketch or to make out 
a case, is not necessary. Moral power is not in proportion to 
mental vigor. Its elements lie above and beyond. What 
avails the clear and cold statement of truth — even Divine 
truth — if it touch not the heart nor move the man ? It is 



276 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



llie evident sincerity, the liome appeal, tlie word commended 
to the conscience of the hearer, the peroration all quivering 
Yvith feeling, the unction, that constitutes the preacher's power. 
The soldier may have wisdom, but if he lack courage, he is 
totally out of character. I^either can the counsellor's courage 
stand him in place of wisdom. Whatever the preacher may 
or may not be, without this one quality of moral power, he is 
nothing. This had IsTolley. 

He had fellowship with his Master in sufferings. Without 
seeking them, without deserving them, we see how they 
befell him in a natural way, or sprung more fiercely out of the 
antagonism between the carnal and spiritual. Our Lord 
wants a suffering ministry. l!s"ot only is the fellowship with 
Him more intimate, but nothing weds a good man to a good 
cause like suffering for it. 

Sufferings weed out hirelings from the ministry. They 
shut up the true and faithful to the only alternative — success. 
"Where the position is easy, and the salary good, and the 
associations popular, the minister may descend to a profes- 
sional view of his office. It makes him a living ; it gives him 
position. What if souls are not converted, or the spiritual 
body of Christ is not edified ? human nature still has reason 
for contentment. Slow-going theories of salvation are apt to 
be adopted, and formalism proffers its decent pall. 

'^ot so with him who, if he get not souls for his hire, gets 
nothing. If his portion be in this life, the suffering minister 
is, of all men, most miserable. With strong cries and tears, 
he calls for souls, souls, souls. He has no pleasure, if the 
pleasure of the Lord do not prosper in his hand. Nothing 
satisfies him but awakenings, conversions. I^Tothing sustains 
him but success. He must have seals to his ministry. While 
warning others against procrastination, he does not pitch for- 



RICHMOND NOLLEY. 2TT 

ward tlie fruits of liis labor to some indefinite future. Tlie 
now presses liim, witli its straits and self-denial for the gos- 
pel's sake, and lie presses it upon others. His heart yearns : 
Ms soul travails. Sucli a ministry will not handle the word 
of God daintily or deceitfully, but earnestly, mightily. 

Of this sort was Kichmond IToUey. At no time from the 
day he threw his saddlebags across his arm and started for 
Edisto Circuit till that chill ^^'ovember evening when, after 
prayer, he lay down in the woods of Catahoula to die, could 
he have afforded to preach a pointless sermon, or exercise a 
fruitless ministry. Did he cross from Wilmington to Top- 
sail Sound to chop logic with the fishermen and pilots ? Did 
he take his life in his hand on the Tombigbee Mission and 
go from fort to fort to discourse learnedly on foreknowledge 
and freewill ? Did he traverse the swamps and prairies of 
Louisiana, enduring hardness and bufieted by evil men, in 
order to make a display before the congregations he gath- 
ered ? Did he visit families on his weary rounds merely to 
partake of their hospitable cheer, and show himself an enter- 
taining gentleman ? E"o, no! This would have been a los- 
ing business. He could not afiford it. His call from above, 
his convictions of duty, his self-consecration, could not be 
met by soft beds, fine dinners, agreeable company, and flat- 
tering commendations of his pulpit speeches. He was in 
earnest and on higher aims intent. The burden of the Lord 
was upon him. He struck for the weight of glory and the 
exceeding great reward. 

Christian brother, suffering minister, we have entered into 
the labors of such men. Think on that lowly grave and 
him that sleeps there ; his toil and his crown. Eevive, and 
stand upon thy feet ! 



2T8 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



MINISTEEIAL ZEAL. 

BY CHARLES WESLEY. 

Give me the faith which can remove 
And sink the mountain to a plain, 

Give me the childlike, praying love 
That longs to build thy house again, — 

The love which once my heart o'erpowered, 

And all my simple soul devoured. 

I want an even, strong desire, 

I want a calmly fervent zeal, 
To save poor souls out of the fire, 

To snatch them from the verge of hell, 
And turn them to the pardoning God, 
And quench the brands in Jesus' blood. 

I would the precious time redeem, 

And longer live for this alone. 
To spend, and to be spent, for them 

Who have not yet my Saviour known ; 
Fully on these my mission prove. 
And only breathe to breathe thy love. 

Enlarge, inflame, and fill my heart 
With boundless charity Divine ; 

So shall I all my strength exert. 

And love them with a zeal like mine, 

And lead them to thine open side. 

The sheep for whom their Shepherd died. 

Or if, to serve thy Church and thee, 

Myself be offered up at last, 
My soul, brought through the purple sea 

With those beneath the altar cast. 
Shall claim the palm to martyrs given, 
And mount the highest throne in heaven. 



JOHN SLADE. 



279 



JOHl^ SLADE. 

BY THE REV. PEYTON P. SMITH. 

John Slade was born on Beech. Brancli, Beaufort District, 
Soutli Carolina, April 7tli, 1790. 

When about thirty years of age, he embraced religion, 
and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Camden 
County, Georgia. He attributed his conversion mainly to 
the instrumentality of his pious grandmother, Mrs. Prevatt, 
who had been accustomed, while he was yet young, to lead 
him with her into the closet and secret grove, and there iu- 
struct, and pray with and for him. These instructions and 
prayers followed him, along the slippery paths of youth, up 
to manhood, and resulted in bringing him to the foot of the 
cross, where he was soundly and thoroughly converted. To 
the end of his eventful life, he never doubted the reality of 
his conversion. 

Soon after he joined the Church, he evinced such gifts and 
graces as induced the Church to give him license to exhort. 
In the year 1822, he commenced his labors with the Eev. 
John J. Triggs, who had been appointed to the "Early Mis- 
sion and adjacent settlements." His success soon justified 
the Church in giving him license to preach, and a recom- 
mendation to the travelling connection. 



280 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

In 1823, lie was admitted on trial in tlie Soutli Carolina 
Conference, and appointed junior preacher (J. J. Triggs in 
charge) on the Chattahoochee Mission, embracing a large 
field in South-western Georgia and a portion of Alabama. 

In 1824, he was appointed in charge of the Early Mission, 
embracing in part the ground occupied the previous year, 
and considerable territory in Florida. 

In 1825, he was admitted to full connection in the South 
Carolina Conference, ordained a deacon by Bishop Eoberts, 
and appointed in charge of the Appling Circuit, in South- 
eastern Georgia. On the 31st of July of this year he was 
married. 

In 1826, he travelled the Tallahassee Mission, embracing a 
portion of Southern Georgia, and a large territory of wilder- 
ness country in Florida. 

In 1827, he was appointed in charge of Ohoopee Cir- 
cuit, in Georgia, having John Coleman as junior preacher 
to assist him. 

In 1828, on the 10th of February, at Camden, South Caro- 
lina, Brother Slade was ordained an elder by Bishop Soule. 
His health having become much impaired by long rides, 
protracted labors, and much exposure, he was placed upon 
the superannuated list. He sustained this relation for two 
years. Although his health was not restored, yet, because 
of his comparative youth in the ministry, at Columbia, South 
Carolina, in January, 1830, he asked for and obtained a 
location. 

In this capacity he labored for fifteen years, in Southern 
Georgia and Florida, struggling with poverty and bodily 
affliction, until the year 1845, when his health was so far 
restored that, upon the organization of the Florida Confer- 
ence, in Tallahassee, he presented himself, and was readmitted 



JOHN SLADE. 281 

into tlie travelling connection, and appointed in charge of 
the Bainbridge Circuit. 

In 1846, he travelled the Blakelej Circuit ; in 1847, the 
Troupville Circuit ; in 1848, the Warrior Mission. 

In 1849, he was returned to the Bainbridge Circuit. In 
1850, he was in charge of the Irwin Circuit. In 1851, he 
travelled the Holniesville Mission. In 1852, he was appointed 
in charge of the "Wakulla Circuit. In 1853, he was returned 
to the Troupville Circuit. In 1854, he was appointed to the 
Thomasville Circuit, where he closed his earthly labors. 

Having given a brief account of the fields of labor occupied 
by Brother Slade, a short account of his general character 
and labors may be appended. 

Brother Slade left a widow and two daughters, but they 
can give little information as to his early training. He was 
born and brought up in obscurity, possessing but limited 
advantages for securing an education. He certainly was 
endowed with an intellect of high order, which needed only 
cultivation to have placed him high in the estimation of his 
brethren as a divine. 

As a man, he was prompt and inflexible in the discharge 
of what he considered his duty. He possessed great moral 
and personal courage, for he met and boldly opposed wicked- 
ness and impiety in all places, and preached Christ to men 
of high and low degree ; and he hesitated not to undergo 
the toils, dangers, and privations of newly and sparsely 
settled countries. 

In personal appearance, it is said he resembled General 
Jackson. He was tall and athletic, with a high forehead, 
and a voice at once strong, clear, and musical. 

In singing, he had but few equals ; and few could be heard 
so distinctly, or at so great a distance. 



282 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



There was sometliing dignified and commanding in his 
demeanor while in the pulpit: in fact, he only needed a 
finished education to have placed him among the first orators 
of his age. 

l^ever shall I forget my first interview with this man of 
God, at Damascus Camp-meeting, in Gadsden County, Florida, 
in 1840. I requested him at night to close the services. He 
was poorly clad, wayworn, and weather-beaten. With long, 
flowing white locks, he recalled to my mind the image which 
I had formed of an old patriarch or apostle. After the 
sermon, he commenced singing the hymn, 

" Hark ! how the gospel trumpet sounds I 
Through all the world the echo bounds; 
And Jesus, by redeeming blood, 
Is bringing sinners back to God ; 
And guides them safely by his word 
To endless day;" 

and ere he had concluded this short hymn, the whole multi- 
tude seemed to be greatly moved by an overwhelming tide of 
feeling. He then delivered a most earnest exhortation, which, 
imbued with the spirit and power of the gospel, produced 
lasting impressions. Two or three times during this camp- 
meeting he preached, with great success. Finding that he 
was struggling with poverty, that he was very destitute, I 
applied, without his knowledge, to some friends for pecuniary 
aid, and very easily raised fifty dollars for his benefit. On 
the reception of this free-will ofifering, he manifested great 
humility and sincere gratitude. 

During this and the following year, he attended various 
camp-meetings and quarterly meetings in the Florida Dis- 
trict. At these meetings he was always ready to preach, 



JOHN SLADE. 



283 



exliort, sing, or labor at the altar, as occasion might require. 
In prayer he was eminently successful, at all times seeming 
to feel himself in the august presence of the great "I Am." 
With the profoundest reverence and the greatest humility 
did he appeal to the Most High. He felt the great truth that 
he was calling on one who was not only pure and holy, but 
who was mighty to save. Many who mourned over their 
sins, will rejoice in eternity at the success of his appeals to 
the mercy-seat on their behalf. Many, who still live, were 
ever ready to render pecuniary aid to one so eminently pious 
and devoted to the cause of his Master. His zeal and self- 
sacrificing spirit seemed to plead in his behalf, and many felt 
it a sacred duty to aid one so manifestly commissioned by 
Christ to preach his gospel. 

As a preacher. Brother Slade was a thorough Methodist. 
His views of the doctrines of the Methodist Church were 
generally clear and comprehensive, and his arguments strong 
and convincing. The Bible was emphatically his text-book, 
and well might it have been told the infidel and sinner, in 
the language of the old poet, "Beware of the man of one 
book." Yet he sought books that could illustrate and 
explain his "one book," though perhaps he did not devote 
as much time as some others to the study of works on Theo- 
logy. He sought diligently to make himself acquainted with 
the doctrines of the gospel as held by the Methodist Church. 
In these he was well versed ; and generally he succeeded in 
presenting them successfully to the people among whom he 
labored. 

In his itinerant life, Brother Slade was a pioneer, going 
into many districts where Christ had never been preached, 
and boldly declaring to the hardy pioneers around him, 
"Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord." Oftentimes 



284 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



he occupied tlie most destitute portions of a sparsely settled 
country ; but lie Avas a bold and fearless man, and did not 
shrink from undergoing the fatigue and dangers attending 
such labors. He was ready at all times to penetrate the 
forest, and proclaim with undaunted courage the truths of 
the gospel to its untutored inhabitants. Many incidents 
might be given from his eventfal life, setting forth his daunt- 
less yet Christian heroism. Many a family, who had left 
friends and Sabbath privileges, and had found a home in the 
deep forest, was gladdened by the visits, strengthened by the 
prayers, and edified by the godly conversation of this noble 
old "soldier of the cross." Often would such a family have 
their wilderness-home surrounded by men who " were with- 
out hope and without God in the world;" who respected no 
Sabbath, and worshipped no God ; but seeing the zeal and 
hearing the exhortations of the man of God, the pious family 
would be encouraged "to fight the good fight of faith, and 
lay hold on eternal life." 

Brother Slade never hesitated to preach the doctrines re- 
ceived by his Church, and often has his logic swept away all 
opposition from a candid mind, and his boldness been re- 
warded with a new convert to truth. On one occasion he 
was preaching on the subject of Baptism in Appling County. 
His statement of his doctrines was clear, and he proceeded 
with a series of strong and powerful arguments to support it. 
As he advanced from point to point, he warmed up with his 
theme : he became fired with that ardent love of truth which 
condemns all opposition ; and while dealing out some heavy 
blows to what he deemed gross errors, one of his hearers 
became enraged, and openly and loudly cursed him. He 
threatened, in his peculiar style, "to maul" him if he did 
not stop. Undisturbed by an attack so unceremonious and 



JOHN SLADE 



285 



unexpected, Brotlier Slade proceeded with Ms discourse. 
Once or twice lie paused to reprove, but before be linisbed 
bis sermon, be succeeded not only in silencing but in 
tborougbly convincing bis formidable foe, wbo became not 
only a convert to tbe trutb, but tbe firm and steadfast friend 
of tbe preacber. Ricb reward to tbe devoted lover of trutb ! 

Brotber Slade was remarkably prompt in attending bis 
appointments. In a new country, be bad many difficulties 
to surmount, many dangers to meet, and many privations to 
endure. But be looked to an Almigbty Fatber, and, leaning 
upon tbe strong but invisible arm of Jebovab, be went fortb 
to brook tbe dangers tbat beset bis patb. He stopped not 
for beat or for cold, for wet or for dry, and rarely did be 
besitate to plunge into a swollen and rapid stream, wben in 
bis way to meet bis appointments. On on^ occasion, in 
Early County, wben going to an appointment, b^ found tbat 
a stream in bis way bad been mucb swollen by late beavy 
rains. He paused not, but urged bis borse in, and swam 
safely over. But it was a very bitter, cold day, and ere be 
arrived at tbe small cburcb, many icicles bad formed upon bis 
garments. In tbis condition " be preacbed tbe gospel to tbe 
poor" tbere assembled. A hardened sinner in tbe little con- 
gregation, looking on bim as be stood and preacbed Jesus, 
was struck not only witb tbe appearance of tbe messenger, 
but witb tbe power of trutb. He sought and obtained tbe 
forgiveness of bis sins, and still lives to remember gratefully 
the shivering messenger of mercy to bim. Behold bow 
Christ rewards his devoted minister ! 

Sometimes Brother Slade's sermons were attended witb 
great power. I heard bim preach once at a camp-meeting in 
Hamilton County, Florida, on the "Divinity of Christ and 
the triumphs of his gospel." It was full of sublimity and 



286 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

power, and delivered witli great dignity and effect. I tliouglit 
it truly eloquent. ITot unfrequently his sermons carried with 
B them revival fire, and would strike conviction to many a pre- 
viously careless heart. By such sermons he has spread joy 
and gladness, and made many additions to the Church of 
Christ. "What a wonderful effect is always produced by 
preaching the pure gospel of Jesus Christ ! 

In 1840, while a local preachei^, he commenced a meeting 
with the Eev. R. J. Cowart, the preacher in charge of Bain- 
bridge Circuit. As Brother Cowart was a young man, 
Brother Slade was the principal speaker. The meeting 
continued for ten days. His sermons on that occasion were 
plain but powerful. They seemed to breathe the spirit of an 
apostle. The poor received the gospel gladly ; and many of 
the rich, the proud, the fashionable, who could not withstand 
his appeals, fell before the cross, and were made to rejoice in 
hope of that "inheritance which is incorruptible and unde- 
filed, and that fadeth not away." After the meeting closed, 
he baptized twenty-seven by pouring, and seventeen by 
immersion. But on the next day the hand of affliction was 
laid heavily upon him, and for a long time he was unable to 
preach. But while the " outward man " was thus suffering, the 
"inward man" was " strong in faith, giving glory to God." 

Soon after his recovery, an incident occurred which shows 
his zeal in the cause of his Master. He met a congregation 
according to appointment, but the friends had failed to get 
their house covered. l!Tot at all disconcerted by this circum- 
stance, the congregation sat, while he stood, beneath the 
burning rays of a summer's sun, and, with Bible in hand, 
preached "Christ crucified" to a handful of sinners, with 
three or four Christians. On this spot there now stands a 
large church, with a large membership. Many who heard 



JOHN SLADE. 287 

liim on tliat occasion still live, and are always ready to give 
him the honor lie so riclily deserved. 

A just meed of praise is awarded to this sainted man by 
one who was present at the organization of the Florida Con- 
ference Missionary Society, at the first session of the Florida 
Conference. After speaking of the zeal of the people, their 
liberality, and devotion to the cause, he gives several very 
interesting incidents connected with the occasion : among 
these, he makes honorable mention of the subject of this 
sketch : 

To crown the interest of this novel and exciting scene, 
just at this moment a hoary-headed man, of plain and unpre- 
tending exterior, was seen wending his way along the aisle 
of the church, towards the altar. He was leaning, like J acob, 
upon his staff : still there was something of elasticity about 
his step, the fire of his eye was still undimmed, and, as he 
looked around him, a smile as of holy triumph played across 
his manly features. Who was that time-honored one ? It 
was the Eev. Mr. Slade, the first man who planted the stand- 
ard of the cross in Florida, when this fair land was a voiceless 
solitude. He it was who, fired by the same zeal which still 
throws its unquenched halo around his declining years, left 
the abodes of civilization, to bear the glad tidings of the 
gospel to the few straggling settlers who had penetrated the 
haunts of the red man in these Southern wilds ; a pioneer 
bold, fearless, and strong in the Lord, who stood up in the 
wigwam, in the low-roofed cottage, or under the sheltering 
branches of some primeval oak, and mingled the voice of 
praise and thanksgiving with the hoarse murmurings of the 
wilderness, the roaring of the distant waterfall, and the 
desert bowlings of the savage Indian. "What must have been 
the feelings of that toil-worn veteran of the cross, as he drew 



288 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

a contrast between tliose fading reminiscences of tlie past, 
and the living realities of the present ? "What a tide of asso- 
ciations must have rolled across his mind as he remembered 
the little ^ cloud of witnesses,' not larger than a man's hand, 
that used to hover about his pathway in the days of his first 
sojourn in Florida, and beheld it now, with its magnificent 
folds extended along the face of the whole heavens, casting 
forth its alternate showers and shade upon the sunburnt soil, 
and causing the joyless desert to bloom and 'blossom as the 
rose !' " 

As a Christian, Brother Slade was deeply and habitually 
pious. He cared not for the wealth or the honors of the 
world, but he was willing to " count all things but loss for 
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord." 
Religion was his constant study. His great desire was to do 
good, and to this he devoted all his powers, both of body and 
mind. Salvation was his theme on the road : he spoke of it 
around the fireside, and everywhere " his conversation was as 
it becometh the gospel of Christ." He thought no conde- 
scension too low, no undertaking too arduous, to reclaim the 
meanest sinner. By every means did he strive to turn men 
from the error of their way, and every inducement did he 
use to awaken them to virtue and religion. "With him, the 
Vtalue of an immortal soul could not be estimated. He en- 
tered the cottage of the wretched and the ignorant, and 
patiently taught them the plan of redemption. His preach- 
ing has often transformed outcasts and profligates into useful 
members of society, and has filled mth prayer and praise the 
mouths that were pr^eviously accustomed to the most fearful 
blasphemies. He was devoted to God and to Methodism. 
Is it strange that such a man should " die well ?" that he 
should calmly resign his body to his mother dust, and Mb 



JOHN SLADE. 289 

soul to God who gave it ? He was willing to depart and be 
vdth Christ." It would be strange if one who possessed such 
hope did not triumph in the hour of death. 

On the 17th of June, 1854, when on the Thomasville Cir- 
cuit, he attended an appointment at Spring Hill, and, while 
taking his horse from his buggy in the churchyard, he was 
suddenly stricken down with paralysis. For several years 
previous to this his health had been good. For some time 
hopes were entertained that he would recover; but on the 
24th, unwilling that his congregation should be disappointed, 
he preached a short sermon on Rev. xv. 2, 3. The effort so 
prostrated him that all hope of his recovery was lost ; and on 
the following evening, at seven o'clock, his sun went down 
in a clear sky. He gently breathed out his soul to Jesus, 
and entered into that rest that remaineth to the people of 
God. During his sickness he spoke calmly of death, being 

strong in faith, giving glory to God." What is the world 
w^orth in comparison with the emotions in the bosom of this 
noble man, when he reviewed a life spent in the service of 
his Master ? 

He was in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He had spent 
thirty-four years in the service of God and for the good of 
his fellow-men. When he had run his race, when his earthly 
career was closed, he died as an itinerant minister might be 
expected to die — "he died well." 



19 



290 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



PARAPHRASE OF 1 THESS. IV. 13. 

BY CHARLES WESLEY. 

Let the \vorlcl lament their dead, 

As sorro-sving mthout hope : 
When a friend of ours is freed, 

We cheerfully look up, 
Cannot murmur or coxnplain. 

For our dead y^e cannot grieve; 
Death to them, to us is gain : 

In Jesus we believe. 

We believe that Christ, our Head, 

For us resigned his breath ; 
He was numbered with the dead, 

And dying conquered death ; 
Burst the barriers of the tomb ; 

Death could him no longer keep ; 
He is the first-fruits become 

Of those in him that sleep. 

God, who him to life restored. 

Shall all his members raise, 
Bring them quickened with their Lord, 

The children of his grace. 
We who then on earth remain 

Shall not sooner be brought home, 
AU the dead shall rise again 

To meet the general doom. 

Jesus, faithful to his word, 

ShaU with a shout descend; 
All heaven's host their glorious Lord 

Shall pompously attend. 
Christ shall come with dreadful noise, 

Lightnings swift, and thunders loud. 
With the great archangel's voice, 

And with the trump of God. 



EZRA C. THORNTON. 



291 



EZRA C. THORITTOl^. 

BY THE REV. STAUNTON FIELD. 

Ezra Clarke Thornton was born in tlie State of 'New 
York, April 7, 1817. He was of humble but reputable 
parentage. He appears to bave enjoyed no educational 
advantages beyond those of a primary school. Inured to 
hardship from his childhood, a continuous struggle with 
difficulties developed that physical activity, masculine energy, 
and force of character which distinguished him in after life. 
Of his early years we have no further information ; but if 
"the child is father of the man," we may imagine him to 
have been a youth of vivacity, intelligence, and promise, 
exciting hopes that were not doomed to disappointment. 

"When he was about fifteen years of age, the Thornton 
family removed to the West. They settled temporarily in 
Richmond, Ross County,. Ohio, where Ezra grew up to man- 
hood, industriously engaged in earning a support. "With 
very limited educational and religious privileges, in an un- 
cultivated society, he cut his way, with a brave heart, through 
the forest of the world. 

Settling his father and family, he entered a store as clerk, 
on a very limited salary, and, by great prudence and economy, 
saved enough money to purchase a small farm, on which the 



292 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



family was placed. He tlien turned his attention to teacli- 
ing ; and, wliile engaged in this honorable vocation, found 
time and means to prosecute his studies and improve his 
mind. 

He was thus self-taught and self-made. He became a good 
English scholar, was possessed of varied intelligence, and was 
eminently successful as an instructor of youth. 

On the 30th of October, 1841, he was married to Miss Sarah 
Ann Graves — his now desolate widow. After this event, he 
removed to Jackson, Ohio, and after some vacillation in his 
plans, fixed on the profession of the law, during the study 
of which an event transpired which changed the whole 
course of life. 

In the spring of 1842, he became the subject of deep and 
abiding religious impressions. A devoted friend of Mr. 
Thornton says : " This great change in our dear friend took 
place under the ministry of that good man, Father Feree, of 
the Ohio Conference, father of our James Feree, of the Louis- 
ville Conference." That venerable servant of God was then 
Presiding Elder of the Jackson District, and the Eev. Jacob 
Daly was preacher in charge of the Circuit. These men of 
God took the trembling penitent by the hand, pointed him to 
Christ, and enrolled his name in the register of the Church. 
He never ceased his struggles for salvation until he was 
enabled to cast his burdened spirit on the great atonement. 
"His penitency," says one who knew him well, ''was deep 
and pungent, and his conversion clear and satisfactory." 
Of an impassioned and enthusiastic spirit, he became wholly 
absorbed in the subject of religion. 

In all likelihood, he felt himself called to the ministry 
from the very hour of his conversion. In the autumn of the 
same year, 1842, he was licensed to officiate as a local 



EZRA C. THORNTON. 293 

preaclier. His conviction of duty in this matter was strong 
and abiding ; and lie yielded to it as well from tlie desire of 
promoting the glory of God in the salvation of sinners, as 
from the fear of the penalty of delinquency, " "Woe is unto 
me, if I preach not the gospel!" 

In the year 1843, Mr. Thornton removed to Portsmouth, 
Ohio, where he resumed his occupation as a teacher, exercis- 
ing his gifts also as a local preacher until the ensuing year, 
when he entered the itinerancy. 

The year 1844 will be memorable in the history of Ameri- 
can Methodism. The proceedings which led to the separa- 
tion of the Church into two distinct ecclesiastical organiza- 
tions, attracted the attention of Mr. Thornton, who gave the 
subject a serious and impartial consideration. Though a 
native of a ITorthern State, and then a resident of Ohio, he 
deliberately avowed his adherence to the principles of the 
Southern Church. According to the "Itinerant" of Decem- 
ber 1, 1856, " he came over to a Quarterly Meeting held at 
Mount Zion, in Greenup County, Kentucky, during the 
summer of 1845, and conferred with the Eev. John C. Harri- 
son, Presiding Elder of the Maysville District, Kentucky 
Conference, in regard to the rights of adherence; and, re- 
ceiving proper instruction and encouragement, he repaired to 
the next session of that Conference, and was employed as a 
supply for the Crittenden Circuit by the Eev. Gilby Kelly, 
Presiding Elder of the Covington District." 

Having served the Church acceptably for a portion of the 
year on Crittenden Circuit, he appeared, duly recommended 
for admission into the travelling connection, at the ensuing 
session of the Kentucky Conference, held in Covington, Ky., 
September 23, 1846. As Mr. Thornton had a family, and the 
Kentucky Conference had a rule barring the admission of 



294 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

married men into its ranks, liis application occasioned con 
siderable discussion, wliicli was closed b}' a pungent speech 
from Dr. Basconi against the rule ; and Mr. Thornton was 
admitted on trial. 

At the close of the Conference, he was stationed at Louisa, 
a small town pleasantly situated on the Big Sandy River — 
the county-seat of Lawrence County, Kentucky. 

He made a good impression upon the people at his first 
appearance among them, and continued to grow in their 
affections to the end of the year. At the next Conference, 
he was reappointed to Louisa, and sustained himself well, 
serving his charge with great acceptance and profit to the 
end of the second year. 

At the Conference of 1848, he was appointed to Greenups- 
btirg Circuit. Here he labored with much satisfaction to the 
people, and not without success. They speak of him as a 
hard worker" — no unmeaning compliment. At the next 
Conference, he was reappointed to Greenupsburg, and served 
the Cluirch laboriously and acceptably to the end of the 
second year, when he left the Circuit with an enviable popu- 
larity. 

About this time, the T^^estern Virginia Conference was 
ororanized. The territorv embraced within its botmds was 
set off from the Kentucky Conference, with all the preachers 
then occupying it. Among them was Mr. Thornton, who at 
that time was making preparations to locate, and seek a home 
in the far "West. He was moved to this course by a desire to 
make some provision for his growing fa.mily. His heart sank 
within him when he looked on the partner of his bosom, and 
the dear pledges of love that God had given him, that were 
liable to be left at any moment to the cold charities of a 
selfish world. 



EZRA C. TH0IIXT0]S'. 295 

Providentially, however, lie attended tlie Conference, wliicli 
was organized at Parkersburg, September 4, 1850. Here be 
was ordained elder, having received deacons' orders two 
years before, at the session in Flemingsbnrg, Kentucky. 

TTliile Bishop Andrew, in addressing the candidates for 
admission into full connection, in his peculiar and stirring 
manner enlarged on the question, "Have you faith in God?" 
reminding the preachers that such a faith comprehends faith 
in his providence to take care of them and their families, Mr. 
Thornton's feelings were wrought up to the highest point of 
intensity, and he wept aloud, declaring that he would never 
again think of locating while God should give him strength 
to travel. 

At the close of the session, he was appointed to Parkers- 
burg District, which embraced a large extent of country, 
since divided into two Districts. Here for two years he 
labored with great acceptance and success. 

In many portions of his District, Southern Methodism was 
for the first time introduced and established — particularly in 
Clarksburg, where he was remarkably successful and greatly 
beloved. 

The spirit and feelings with which he entered on the re- 
sponsible work of a Presiding Elder, may be seen in the 
following extract from a letter to his friend, Mr. Joseph 
Foster, then of Greenupsburg, Kentucky. He says : 

"I suppose you would like to hear something about how I 
am coming on in my new relation to the Church. At first, it 
was hard to o^et the armor to /?/. I was introduced to a Bro- 
ther Sargent, an old and venerable member of the Church, 
as the Presiding Elder. The next morning, in love-feast, he 
arose, the tears streaming, and said, ' TVken I was introduced 
to our Presiding Elder, I thought, Is it possible ! they have 



296 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



sent sucli a stripling liere to be the leader of tlie liost ! But/ 
said lie, ' if the Lord is with him, like David, we will get the 
victory.' We had an excellent time, indeed. I have now 
held three Quarterly Meetings, and all have been good — the 
last very good. In going to Eavenswood, I fell in with a man 
who, in conversation, informed me that he was a friend to 
the Church — his wife a member, etc. He tried, by various 
questions, to find out who I was ; but I evaded. He told me 
there was a Quarterly Meeting in Eavenswood on Saturday 
and Sunday. When we parted, I said, 'If you will come to 
meeting on Sunday, at eleven, perhaps you may see me, and 
find out who I am.' He said, 'I will come.' He came — 
stayed till night. I was assisted much by the good Spirit. I 
made an appeal to parents in an exhortation, and when I 
opened the door of the church, he came rushing over the 
benches, threw his arms around me, and said, ' I have found 
out who you are : pray for me !' One old man, a skeptic, sat 
and wept like a child in the time of preaching at eleven 
o'clock. Surely God was there ! I have been abundantly 
blessed, Brother Foster, in my labors, since I came here ; and 
to God be all the glory. Amen. The prospect for good 
times is, indeed, very flattering, and, by the help of the good 
Lord, I intend to try to live religion, and do my duty." 

After two years of hard labor and many trials, he was re- 
moved from the Parkersburg to the Guyandotte District, 
where he continued one year. 

At the Conference held in Clarksburg, he was stationed at 
Catlettsburg. Here he had made arrangements for the erec- 
tion of an academy, which enterprise he successfully prose- 
cuted. This enlarged his sphere of usefulness, and eked out 
a support for his large and growing family. His course in 
this matter was approved by the Conference, which, at its 



EZRA C. THOENTON. 



297 



next session, elected him delegate to tlie General Conference 
of 1854. He was cliosen on tlie first ballot, and proved a 
faithful and valuable representative in that venerable body. 

At the next Conference, he was returned to Catlettsburg, to 
which was annexed the town of Ashland. In this little place, 
which is laid out for a large city, he organized a society, la}^- 
ing the foundation on which it is hoped his successors will 
build a flourishing church. 

He was next appointed to Guyandotte and Marshall Aca- 
demy, some ten or twelve miles above Catlettsburg. Here 
he labored faithfully and acceptably. The people were so 
attached to him, that, at the next session of the Conference, 
which was held at Guyandotte, they unanimously and ear- 
nestly remonstrated against his removal. But Bishop Early 
felt it his duty to remove him, as he needed his services on 
the Parkersburg District. 

Without murmuring or hesitation, Mr. Thornton encoun- 
tered the great inconvenience and sacrifice to which this 
appointment subjected him, sold his property, and left Guyan- 
dotte to visit his relatives in the West, preparatory to an 
entrance upon the work of the District. 

On the 10th of October, 1856, he started on his tour, never 
to return. The following particulars are given in the lan- 
guage of another: 

"He was on a visit to his father; and when within eighty 
miles of his destination, the cars stopped at Fulton Depot, 
Wisconsin. He got off to speak to a friend, and did not 
attempt to get on until after the cars had started : in making 
the attempt, his feet slipped, and he fell on the rail, when the 
cars passed over him, crushing both his legs. The accident 
occurred on the 15th of October. Eeaction did not take place 
so as to justify amputation until the next day, when, at his 



298 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



own request, tlie operation was performed; but he survived 
only a few minutes afterwards. He lived only twenty liours 
from the time lie received the injury, and retained liis senses 
to tlie last. Every possible attention was paid him by the 
officers of the road and the community. He was buried on 
the 18th, in Edgerton, by the Free Masons, at his own 
request." 

He had left his wife in Indiana with her friends, and she 
did not reach the place where he lay until his happy spirit 
had gone to glory. As he drew near the banks of "the last 
river," the thought of his "poor wife and helpless children" 
cast a shade of gloom upon his mind, but mustering faith 
and courage, his countenance brightened up with a smile, and 
brushing away the tear which trembled on his cheek, he 
exclaimed, "God will take care of them!" To a friend who 
stood by his side he said, "Just as I expected, brother; the 
religion I have preached to others supports me in death." 

The foregoing sketch of our lamented brother is unavoid- 
ably imperfect, and would be more so without the addition 
of a few reflections on his character as a Christian and a 
minister of Christ. 

He was a man of keen perceptions, brilliant imagination, 
and warm, genial, magnanimous sentiments. From these 
characteristics his piety took its peculiar type : he was quick 
in apprehending, sincere in professing, and fair in contend- 
ing for "the faith once delivered unto the saints." 

If he sometimes approached the "Slough of Despond," at 
other times he soared to altitudes of joy unknown to those 
whose experience is more even and uniform. Though, excit- 
able, no one who knew him ever doubted the firmness of his 
principles or the purity of his motives. "His friendship," 
says one who was well acquainted with him, "was firm and 



EZRA C. THORNTON. 299 

sincere; and I am reminded of a remark of one who liad 
fully tested it, 'whenever I wanted aid and counsel from one 
upon whom I could implicitly rely, I called upon Thornton^ 
and he never deceived me.' " 

As a preacher he was deservedly popular. He was a fine 
declaimer. His style was elevated, pathetic, and declama- 
tory, and his manner of delivery rapid, animated, and 
enthusiastic. When in a proper mood, with a Divine afflatus 
resting on him, his pulpit efforts were displays of almost 
overpowering oratory. He was uniformly a good preacher. 
His talents, if not profound, were of a practical, utilitarian 
order, adapted to the wants of the Church and the world. 

He was a close student, and by dint of application, in the 
face of the most formidable obstacles, he had become a 
scholar of considerable and varied acquirements. His library 
was one of the best, if not the best, in our Conference. With 
so many cares and labors as were imposed upon him, how he 
found time to study is hard to divine. May his mantle of 
zeal, devotion, and energy, fall upon the Conference of which 
he was so useful a member ! 



300 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



GO TO THE GRAVE. 

BY JAMES MONTGOMERY. 

Go to the grave in all thy giorious prime, 

In full activity of zeal and power : 
A Christian cannot die before his time, 

The Lord's appointment is the servant's hour. 

Go to the grave : at noon from labor cease ; 

Rest on thy sheaves, thy harvest-task is done : 
Come from the heart of battle, and in peace, 

Soldier, go home ; "with thee the fight is won. 

Go to the grave : though like a fallen tree, 
At once with verdure, flowers, and fruitage crowned, 

Thy form may perish, and thine honors be 
Lost in the mouldering bosom of the ground 

Go to the grave, which, faithful to its trust, 

The germ of immortality shall keep ; 
While safe, as watched by cherubim, thy dust 

Shall, till the judgment-day, in Jesus sleep. 

Go to the grave, for there thy Saviour lay 
In death's embraces, ere he rose on high ; 

And all the ransomed, by that narrow way. 
Pass to eternal life beyond the sky. 

Go to the grave — no, take thy seat above ; 

Be thy pure spirit present with the Lord, 
Where thou, for faith and hope, hast perfect love, 

And open vision for the written word. 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 



301 



lai^ATIUS A. FEW. 

BY THE REV. ALEXANDER MEANS, M.D. 

Mankind liave, in all ages, and in every stage of civiliza- 
tion, been accustomed to respect and reverence those who 
have been gifted with high capabilities, or who have been 
distinguished for the exercise of any recognized virtue in the 
age in which they have lived. Even barbarism itself, within 
whose dark domain mind is regarded as a mere appendage to 
manhood, is strongly characterized by this popular impulsion. 
The South Sea Islander yields the palm of greatness and bows 
in patient submission to the savage whose stalwart arm most 
successfully wields the fatal seal-club, or most skilfully 
drives the bounding canoe over the foaming seas. The wild 
native of the "West, whose ideas of glory are limited to the 
achievements of the chase and the triumphs of the tomahawk, 
honors with the sceptre of his tribe the veteran hunter of a 
thousand skins, or the battle-worn warrior of a hundred 
scalps. Much more, then, within the reign of civilization, 
and under the benignant auspices of a rational, elevating, 
and sublime religion, where man exultingly learns his true 
dignity, and cultivated mind assumes its high prerogatives, 
may we expect to find in its least objectionable and purest 



302 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



form tMs constitutional trait in human nature. Here a lofty, 
durable, deathless reputation is not the precocious offspring 
of an hour, or the capricious boon of wayward fortune, 
thrown full-formed upon the world, but, like the stalactical 
columns in the grotto of Antiparos, the slow and silent 
aggroupmeut of millionary molecules, accumulated through 
the lapse of tedious and toilsome years, imperceptibly grow- 
ing in strength, expanding in beauty, and swelling in noble 
proportions, until the eye is ravished with its crystalline 
purity and classic form, and earth and heaven may safely 
repose their interests upon its unbending shaft. 

It is true that amid the caprices which have sometimes 
governed communities, as well as the revolutions which have 
frequently agitated nations, a few meritless but fortunate 
individuals have been suddenly foisted upon the attention of 
the world, and shone lustrous for a time with the insignia of 
popular favor. But to reach that enviable distinction and 
perpetuity of fame which goodness and greatness unitedly 
confer, knoioledge and virtue must blend their ample resources, 
and activity and zeal characterize their unwearied outlay, for 
the happiness of mankind. One leading trait of character, 
boldly outlined, may win notoriety, or even secure applause, 
but to gain the world's confidence, win the world's heart, and 
wear the world's glory, requires a beautiful balance of intel- 
lectual and moral power — a majesty and weight of personal 
character which can neither be compassed nor exemplified by 
the practice of any insulated virtue. J^ay, more : it demands 
an embodiment of matured worth, a lovely and impressive 
whole of moral excellences, neither to be simulated by 
manoeuvring tricksters, nor basely bought from parasitical 
fame-mongers. While, then, on the one hand, model speci- 
mens of virtue, piety, and usefulness, among the simple- 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 



303 



hearted, tlie untitled, and tlie unscliooled, justly command 
the respect of mankind; and on the other, signal instances 
of polished cultivation, noble emprise, and startling heroism, 
among the gifted and the great, may excite popular admira- 
tion, it is only by the rare but attractive combination of 
these striking characteristics, where the purity of the one con- 
secrates the power of the other, that human nature reaches the 
ultima thule of its earthly destination, and an approving world 
voluntarily renders the homage of commingled veneration 
and love. 

As it is the province of the profane historian to trace the 
movements of nations, mark the shifting phases of communi- 
ties, and truthfully to portray the leading attributes of those 
governing minds which have left their impress upon national 
character, surely the .ecclesiastical historian should feel himself 
commissioned faithfully to chronicle, from age to age, the 
onward progress and leading events which characterize a 
religion designed to mould the moral elements of the nations, 
give cast to their current history, and finally to fiji the des- 
tiny of the world. I^or is the Christian biographer an 
unimportant auxiliary in furnishing to posterity a lively por- 
traiture of the past. It is his grateful task to daguerreotype 
the features of those master-minds which have gained the 
ascendency over the sensual and sordid proclivities of human 
nature, and at various periods shone conspicuously amid the 
honored ranks of Zion. It is his mentally to reembody for 
the public eye the distinguishing virtues of the great and the 
good, whose precious memories would otherwise soon fade 
away into the dim light of tradition. Indeed, those who have 
fearlessly and triumphantly vindicated the cardinal and soul- 
saving doctrines of the Church, by the power of logic and the 
persuasiveness of rhetoric, who have moved at the head of 



304 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



her ''sacramental hosts," multiplied her conquests, and 
widened her reign, and have signally identified themselves 
with her history and progress, rightfull}^ claim some enduring 
record among her own archives, that coming generations, 
stimulated by the moral prowess and intellectual achieve- 
ments of their godly sires, may be sprung to emulate their 
worth, and meekly but nobly strive for a kindred immor- 
tality. 

!N"ay, minds of more humble proportions, but purified and 
ennobled by a baptismal unction from heaven, that have 
ventured to struggle with antagonistic forces for the defence 
of truth, and have resolutely maintained the faith in the hour 
of peril — minds that, stirred by the inspiring motto of the 
red cross which fianied in the ominous sky of Constantine, 
"m lioc signo vinces,'' have practically illustrated the living 
power of the gospel, and hallowed, in the world's eye, the 
onee despised name of the persecuted ISTazarene — should have 
the memories of their heroic piety enshrined in the veiy 
bosom of the Church, to inspire a more unselfish devotion to 
her peerless claims, and breed warrior-hearts to bear her 
banners and win the field where craven spirits would fear 
and fly. If the earnest and heart-felt devotion which 
prompted the woman of Bethany to pour out the precious 
contents of her alabaster box upon the Saviour's head, won, at 
his hands, the meed of immortality, and the promise of a 
world-wide fame, which has been already in the progress of 
fulfilment for more than eighteen hundred years, surely those 
'.noble spirits whose devotions have been kindled at the foot 
of the cross, and in the presence of the same Divine Master, 
and whose lives have been but one continued oblation upon 
the altars of his Church, should have their names "graven 
with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever," and will not 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 



305 



be forgotten by the great Arbiter of human destiny when 
the memories of earth are revived again in heaven. 

This train of thought has been naturally suggested by the 
vivid reminiscences which cluster around the tomb of de« 
parted greatness and recall the triumphs of sanctified intel- 
lect, in the form of that venerated friend and brother whose 
name stands at the head of this article. Only a few years 
have passed since he moved in the might of his manly career; 
a Socrates in philosophy, a Solon in counsel, and a saint in 
service. 'Now his honored dust rests in silence in the quiet 
simple cemetery of Oxford, his loved woodland village, but 
his genius, his learning, and his piety shall ever live in the 
memory of the thousands. The warmth with which it has 
been cherished by the ancient and honorable masonic frater- 
nity, with whom he was so long associated, has found full 
expression in the polished strength and artistic beauty of that 
monumental obelisk which overlooks the grounds of Emory 
College, and fronts the noble propylon of its main edifice, 
standing alone in its virgin purity, as if to keep vigil on the 
coast of time, and report his immortality to passing genera- 
tions ;* while the Trust, Faculty, and Literary Societies of the 
cherished Institution, whose plan his genius elaborated, and 



* The entire craft throughout the State have, by voluntary contribution, erected 
a marble obelisk to his memory, resting upon a magnificent pedestal of the same 
material, surmounting a massive granite plinth. The shaft reaches the elevation of 
twenty-two feet from the base, and has the significant masonic emblems — the Holy 
Bible and the compass and square, boldly executed in alto relievo upon its eastern' 
slope,, while three sides of the "die" are occupied by appropriate inscriptions. 
One has been furnished by the venerable order erecting it, commemorative of his 
masonic virtues, another by the Church, expressive of his high Christian and minis- 
terial character, and the third by the Few and Phi Gamma Societies of his beloved 
college, as a testimonial of respect for the talent, learning, and piety of their first 
President. Copies of the inscriptions are appended to this sketch. 
20 



306 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



his energies so largely contributed to evolve, and the Cliurcli 
of his choice, whose honors he so meekly wore, and whose 
doctrines he so ably defended, will record his worth in 
living characters npon the tablet of the heart, and hand 
down his name to an admiring posterity as a benefactor of 
the age. 

Ignatius A. Few was a Georgian by birth, a native, and 
for many years a resident, of the city of Augusta, where he 
drew his first breath, in the year 1790. His educational 
training was partly conducted, but not completed, in Prince- 
ton College, ITew Jersey, from whence he removed to the 
city of Kew York, where he prosecuted his studies under 
private instruction. He selected the profession of the law in 
which to display the powers of a discriminating and culti- 
vated mind; and having passed his novitiate under the able 
training of General Flournoy, of Augusta, then in the zenith 
of his fame, entered forthwith upon the arduous duties of the 
bar. His progress, as might have been anticipated, was 
marked by high success, and he bade fair to win an enviable 
distinction, and to contend in honorable rivalry with the 
ablest legal talents of the day. 

But an interesting event in this period of his history 
changed the whole current of his thoughts, and tamed, for a 
time, his young ambition. He saw, addressed, and married 
the then beautiful and attractive Miss Carr. The hopeful 
advocate was soon transformed into the busy planter; and 
amid the quietness of his rural home, near his native city, he 
remained, engaged in agricultural pursuits, until some time 
during the war of 1812, when our southern seaport, Savannah, 
was threatened with a hostile invasion from British forces, 
and he received a Colonel's commission in the regiment 
appointed to its defence, a position to which his tall and 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 307 

manly form, military port, and fearless independence of 
cliaracter admirably suited'liim. 

After having honorably maintained, nntil the establish- 
ment of peace, the important post assigned him, he returned 
to resume the less exciting pursuits of civil life. Sprung 
once more by the impulses of a laudable ambition, he deter- 
mined to occupy no common place in the ranks of his profes- 
sion, and therefore bent the energies of his clear, strong, and 
disciplined mind to the acquisition of an extraordinary stock 
of legal learning, amplified and enriched by many contribu- 
tions from almost every department of literature and science. 
Unfortunately, however, that dark school of morals whose 
masked libertinism cursed the age of the French Eevolution 
had not ceased to send abroad, through popular channels, its 
skeptical innuendos and plausible dogmas to meet the public 
eye. 

A critical reader and ardent admirer as he was of the 
ablest authors of the day, he could be scarcely otherwise than 
captivated by the commanding talents and powerful pen of 
the great English historiographer, and charmed by the 
versatile genius and flowing style of the inimitable French 
encyclopaedist — the nonpareil of modern writers and the prince 
of modern infidels. Imperceptibly imbued, therefore, with 
the gently infiltrated poison of these moral homicides and 
their gifted compeers, and prompted by the unsanctified zeal 
of a prurient philosophy, he pushed his metaphysical in- 
quiries beyond the sanctioned limits of reason and truth, 
until, alienated from the faith of his fathers, he stood tappling 
upon the brink of a hopeless Materialism, and shuddered at 
the gloom with which his own temerity had environed him. 

About this period, by a mysterious intervention of Divine 
Providence, when the amplitude and resources of his strong 



308 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



mind were opening liis way to distinction, and fame was 
weaving professional garlands for his brow; even in tlie very 
Jiour when, snrronnded by the excitement of the forum, and 
on the eve of an anticipated outlay of intellectual strength 
and legal learning before a judge and jury of his country, 
his engorged lungs, sympathizing with his over-taxed and 
laboring brain, suddenly gave way in a fearful and exhaust- 
ing hemorrhage, which was the signal of his retreat from the 
bar — the ominous precursor of future sufferings, and the 
early premonition of his melancholy end. But his boasted 
reason, that noble faculty which he had so highly trained, 
and on whose conclusions he so confidently rested, was des- 
tined soon to be challenged from an unexpected quarter, for 
an impartial but momentous decision, involving the high 
claims of Revelation, and the issues of eternity I Frequent 
discharges of arterial blood from the pulmonary vessels, 
sometimes alarmingly rapid and profuse, continued to occur 
through the several subsequent years of his life. "What we 
are authorized to believe was the second attack, however, 
was attended with circumstances of peculiar interest, and has 
been detailed by the Rev. Joseph Travis in his recently pub- 
lished Autobiography. 

This venerable man was appointed to preside over the 
Ogeeehee District, which embraced the city of Augusta, in 
the year 1822. About that time he became acquainted with 
the distinguished subject of these memoirs, who had again 
taken up his residence in that city, and whose characteristic 
kindness and courtesy led him frequently to invite Brother 
Travis to visit his family and enjoy its hospitalities. One of 
these polite invitations, extending to himself and wife, 
he took occasion to accept. During the evening's conver- 
sation, the Colonel referred to his recent narrow escape. 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 



309 



when liis life had been imminently perilled by the frightful 
paroxysm of hemorrhage above described. Family prayers 
were at length proposed, to which he readily assented, but 
without conforming to the kneeling posture common to 
Christian worshippers on such occasions. He was at this time 
believed to be a confirmed infidel; and after the ladies had 
retired, and a favorable opportunity offered, with that easy 
and respectful dignity which so signally marked his inter- 
course with others, he introduced his favorite theme. A 
serious discussion commenced, which continued until one 
o'clock in the morning. Brother Travis remembered that he 
bore the crimson banner of his conquering Leader, and 
scorned to strike it to the tallest son of Anak. And yet such 
"skill and tact" did the gifted logician display "in defending 
his principles," that Brother Travis frankly declares, "I 
would rather engage in argument with any man that I ever 
saw than with Colonel Few." The pious minister at length 
determined, however, in his own language, npon an argumen- 
tum ad hominem, and asked his honored friend if he felt no 
dread of death when the blood was gushing from his lungs 
and the pulse of life was waning. He confessed to some 
tremors at first, but said that he soon rallied his powers, and 
all was quiet again. 

Thus closed the conversation; and they had but just 
retired for the remainder of the night, when a more powerful 
appeal was made to his noble sensibilities by the wisdom of 
the skies. Providence interposed in merciful severity, and 
Brother Travis was suddenly hailed by a servant, with alarm- 
ing intelligence that the Colonel had been visited with 
another dreadful paroxysm, endangering his life from suffo- 
cation and loss of blood. The languid eye of the sufferer 
met Brother Travis as he entered his bed-room, and poured 



310 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



out volumes of concession in tlie gaze, as lie speecMessly 
extended to liim his pale hand, and the red tide streamed 
from his pallid lips. He had trodden upon the frail bridge of 
passage with which an illusory infidelity had sought to span 
the great deep beyond the death-room. It cracked under the 
approaching weight of his own immortality, and his startled 
soul recoiled with horror from the yawning abyss. Medical 
aid, however, was instrumental in arresting the violence of 
the attack and averting a speedy catastrophe, and he became 
quiet, thoughtful, and submissive. That eventful night 
seems to have given cast to his future destiny. And, to his 
conversation with Brother Travis, he, in after life, attributed 
his incipient purpose to renounce his ruinous creed and 
acquaint himself with God. 

But the work was not yet done. His active and vigorous 
mind had been stirred to solemn inquiry, and began to seek 
honestly for truth, but for several succeeding years no signal 
results followed. 

At this interesting crisis in his history, the pungent and 
unanswerable ''Appeal to Matter of Fact and Common Sense," 
by the Eev. J. Fletcher, of immortal memory, providen- 
tially met his eye. Its frankness, boldness, and raciness of 
style arrested his attention; and its close, consecutive and 
convincing argumentation controlled his judgment and con- 
founded his trembling, faltering philosophy. Oh! what a 
priceless, hallowed hour was that ! Memory turns back and 
reports the scene. Everlasting destinies are poised, pendent, 
and perilled over that eventful perusal. By vivid association 
we behold him now ! There he sits, grave, thoughtful, 
absorbed, spell-bound^ under the glowing rhetoric, overpower- 
ing logic, and godly zeal of the saint-vicar of Madeley. 
His heart begins to feel the potency of the blows which are 



IGNATIUS A. 



FEW. 



driving iu tlie out-works of his crumbling creed. His whole 
intellectual and moral nature reels under the shock. Un- 
covered and confounded, he pauses for a moment, and then, 
with the characteristic magnanimity of his noble soul, yields 
the conquest Christianity triumphs, and Reason — enlightened, 
subdued, and sanctified Reason — learns her appropriate sphere, 
and reverentially bows to the authenticated wonders of Di- 
vinity, never again presumptuously to try her adventurous 
wing amid the dizzy heights from which an archangel 
trembling might recoil. Conscience, too, faithful to the im- 
pulses of heavenly grace, proclaims his moral condition. 
He finds himself an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, 
without hope and without God in the world, bends the sup- 
pliant knee, lifts the penitential eye, and offers the broken 
heart It is enough ! Faith throws wide the gate of heaven, 
God appears in pardoning glory, and the inspiring light of 
immortality beams around him. He rises a rescued, redeemed 
mail, meek and docile as a child, the arrogant philosopher 
transformed into the pretensionless, confiding babe. 

A soul of such bold proportions and exquisite sensibilities, 
just radiant with heavenly light, and glowing in the ardor of 
Divine love, could not but contemplate with admiration and 
awe the sublime revelations of Bible truth, and the grandeur 
and glory which invest the Messiah's cross. Human pride 
and self-sufficiency shrunk reproved under the august exhi- 
bition, and the majesty of the scene left its ineffaceable im- 
press upon his changed and child-like spirit. 

This happy transformation took place in the year 1826 or 
1827 ; and shortly afterwards, in the year 1828, actuated by an 
earnest sense of religious duty, and under a profound con- 
viction of the solemn responsibilities involved, he plighted 
his vows to the ministry of Christ, and entered upon a new 



812 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



and wider career of usefulness. Here Ms great intellectual 
power had ample scope, and Hs natural benevolence, lieiglit- 
ened and purified by bis spiritual regeneration, found a con^ 
genial spbere for action. But, alas ! the fatal malady which 
had settled upon his weak and lacerated lungs crippled the 
energies of his physical nature, and often embarrassed the 
execution of his holiest purposes. Still, with all these disa- 
bilites, he discharged, for many years, with dignity and 
usefulness, the arduous duties connected with many respon- 
sible trusts committed to his care, filled some of the most 
important stations within the gift of his Church, and occu- 
pied a distinguished place in her highest legislative assem- 
blies. 

We now behold him in the entireness of his manly claims, 
remodelled and energized by the spiiit of Christianity, his 
mental and moral powers in full play and heavenly harmony, 
ready for the toils and trials of the unrevealed future. We 
may, therefore, be indulged in a brief analysis of his natural 
character. 

In his personal relations he was affable and candid, kind and 
affectionate, but dignified and decided ; and whether in the 
public assembly or in the private circle, always distinguished 
for his unaffectedly easy and polished manners, courtly 
bearing, and unsurpassed courtesy and refinement. 

" Though modest, on his unembarrassed brow 
Nature had written — Gentleman." 

jS'or did he ever forfeit his claim to that enviable appellation, 
whether he mingled with the retired and pretensionless sons 
of poverty, or moved amid the refined ranks of wealth and 
fashion. 

He was warm, unsuspecting, and confiding in his attach- 



IGNATIUS A. EEW. 



313 



ments, and admirably retentive of acquaintances once formed 
md friendships once contracted. 

As a scholar lie had few contemporary superiors in any 
country. Endowed, as we have seen, with a native mind of 
capacious and noble mold, whose active powers had been 
gradually but thoroughly developed by elementary training 
and subsequent application ; and prompted in early years by 
a generous ambition for legal and literary distinction, he fled 
to his study as the sanctum of his retired hours, and there, 
surrounded by the tomes of antiquity and the garnered 
wisdom of modern times, his patient toil collected the ele- 
ments of all that wealth of thought and divinity of know- 
ledge which in after life so brilliantly marked his exalted 
career. 'No department of human knowledge was a stranger 
to his scrutinizing research. No vastness of theme repelled 
the boldness of his pursuit, no minuteness of detail foiled the 
patience of his inspection, and no difficulties of fact intimi- 
dated the fearlessness of his enterprise. He was a living 
encyclopaedia of the arts and sciences, and always held at 
command his exhaustless resources for the contingent claims 
of life. 

Should captious criticism herself attempt the analysis of 
his mental constitution, she could only suspect his generous 
nature of an over-sanguine confidence in the pledges and 
pretensions of mankind, and of a too liberal economy in the 
appropriation of limited resources to carry out the details of 
his comprehensive plans. 

As a speaker he was clear, strong, argumentative, powerful, 
always earnest and impressive, and occasionally impassioned. 
He could not think confusedly. Like a saline solution, 
suddenly shot into crystalline form by the presence of a 
nucleus, his subjects instinctively assumed order and system 



314 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



under tlie very toucli of his plastic mind. In the tournament 
of debate he rarel}^ met his equaL And woe to that adven- 
turer who entered the lists with him not harnessed to the 
crown and unaccustomed to the shock of logical encounter, 
for he wielded Damascus steel, and under the flash of his 
blade and the prowess of his arm many a gasconading 
knight has been unhelmeted and unhorsed, and left the undis- 
puted field to the conqueror. 

"Warmly attached to the ordinances and institutions of the 
Church, he lent his great ability and fervid zeal to their 
maintenance and propagation ; and the polish and pungency 
of his polemical powers upon great ecclesiastical questions 
will never be forgotten by those who heard him, as he stood, 
in 1844, on a memorable occasion, yet fresh in the history of 
the past, lung-worn and weak, but conspicuous among the 
tallest minds in her highest ministerial council, fearlessly 
battling for the ancient land-marks of Methodism and the 
rights of the South, while reeling fanaticism recoiled under 
the potency of his gladiatorial skill. 

As a minister he was faithful, zealous, and exemplary, an 
able theologian and critical pulpit analyst. "When he 
ascended the sacred desk, his dignified port, calm, solemn, 
and collected countenance, intelligent eye and open brow, 
authenticated his credentials as an ambassador of Christ, and 
suitably heralded the coming solemnities of a message from 
Heaven. His voice of agreeable intonation and moderate 
strength, sometimes swelled into greater volume as he 
warmed with the contemplation of his subject. On special 
occasions, when profoundly impressed by the majesty of his 
mission, and transported by his vivid apprehension of the 
Divine goodness and glory, his fervent spirit the meanwhile 
pouring itself out in " thoughts that breathed, and words that 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 315 

burned," his overtasked and shattered lungs have suddenly 
sunk under the burden, a hectic cough has interrupted 
his urgent appeal, and a captivated but sympathizing 
audience have been left to pity and to pray. Alas ! alas! it 
was the imperial bird of heaven struggling sunward, Avhile 
the deadly shaft of the archer hung quivering from his bleed- 
ing breast ! 

As a Christian^ however, the attributes and graces of his 
mind, perhaps, shone with the most lovely lustre. Thoroughly 
disciplined in the morals of Christianity, and deeply imbued 
with the spirit of a sound piety, he luminously exemplified, in 
the midst of harassing trials and prolonged afflictions, the 
humility and forbearance — the charity and patience of a child 
of God. His catholic spirit nobly spurned the contracted 
limit-lines of bigoted sectarianism, and w^alked abroad, in the 
generousness of its affections, to court a kindly interchange 
of denominational courtesies, and receive and reciprocate the 
warm embraces of Christian love. 

Thus peaceful and pure, surrounded by the prayers of his 
friends and the sympathies and respect of the world, he 
gradually approached his final hour. 

The last dreaded hemorrhage at length unstrung his 
frame, and undermined the foundations of exhausted nature ; 
but the religion of his life was the guardian angel of his 
death, and surrounded by the heaven of her smiles, with the 
blushing light of immortality opening upon his vision, he 
bade the world farewell, to take a loftier rank with the happy 
hierarchy of the skies. 

Having thus rapidly sketched some of the most eventful 
changes in his history, briefly analyzed his forceable char- 
acter, and witnessed his triumphant end, we may now be 
permitted to recur to the incidents of an interesting epoch, 



316 . BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

clierished by liimself in grateful remembrance wbile lie lived, 
and destined to be perpetuated to posterity. 

During tlie period of his most active labors, a new era 
opened upon tlie history of the Southern Church. Profoundly 
impressed with the necessity of reviving the educational spirit 
of their forefathers, and increasing their facilities for the dif- 
fusion of knowledge through the widening ranks of their 
ministry and membership, our people were ripe for the move- 
ment of some leading mind, which should go forward to 
evolve their liberal resources. And here we cannot forbear 
to remark, that injustice has been done — foul injustice — both 
to the origin and character of our beloved Methodism. The 
misguided and the prejudiced have long been taught to 
regard it as the offensive spawn of an ignorant and super- 
stitious religionism, or, as at best, but the sickly and spoiled 
bantling of an overweening clerical ambition. "Whereas, if 
any great ecclesiastical movement, within the last three cen- 
turies, has ever been peculiarly characterized in its incipiency 
and early progress by the lights of learning and the unction of 
grace, it has been the unexampled reformatory impulse given 
to the Church by the polished and ipowerfnl founder of Method- 
ism and his erudite coadjutors. This untimely thing, it is 
true, was doomed to the birth of the illustrious son of Amram. 
It drew its first breath under the jealous proscriptions of 
power ; was driven from the places of pomp and patronage, 
where the pampered Pharaohs dwelt, to float in its fragile ark 
of bulrushes upon the threatening waters, until the God of 
the infant on the Mle restored it to the maternal bosom, to 
be reared to vigor and manhood by the wisdom and the 
learning of the ablest of the age. The "Wesleys, Fletchers, 
and Cokes, Watsons, Clarkes, and Bensons, who graced its 
early years by the contributions of their literature and the 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 



31T 



impress of their piety, should for ever relieve it, in the judg- 
ment of an honest world, from the charge of a vagrant and 
illiterate origin, and are enough to confer dignity and respect 
upon any progeny or protege recommended to its confidence. 

A legitimate descendant of these patriarchial guides in 
literary tastes and high-born zeal for the cause of God and 
the honor of his Church, our distinguished friend — ready for 
the task, and surrounded by willing and powerful auxiliaries 
of kindred spirits — set out to collect and arrange the materials 
for a literary institution of elevated rank, and in obedience 
to the prevalent sentiment of the times, incorporated manual 
labor as an essential feature in its organization. This, how- 
ever, after a sufficient and unsatisfactory experience, has been 
subsequently abandoned by the Board of Trust, and their 
action sustained by a discerning and appreciating public. 
This High School, however, with ^proposed endowment of fifty 
thousand dollars, did not still meet the increasing demands of 
the anxious and interested friends of the cause ; and although 
an effort to turn the denominational patronage of our State 
to the Randolph Macon College, Ya., by the endowment of a 
Professorship in that Institution, met with his able advocacy, 
yet such was the impulse given to the cause of education in 
the South, that it was deemed expedient to give another 
direction to the rising tide, and invite the contributions of 
our people to the establishment of a liberally endowed College 
upon our own soil, and under the direct patronage of the 
Georgia Conference. Sustained by the legislation, aided by 
the counsels, and encouraged by the contributions of that 
venerable body, among whom were many whose fame was in 
all the Churches, and many who still live in the golden 
maturity of their intellectual strength and ministerial reputa- 
tion, he was again seen in advance of this memorable move- 



318 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



ment, and pusliecl on as tlie pioneer of a deathless enterprise, 
wliose first presence in tlie lonely woodlands selected for its 
location, was consecrated by the breathings of devotion and 
the voice of prayer; and whose auspicious career within a 
few short years opened up the surrounding forest to the 
sights and sounds of bustling industry, sprinkled the beauties 
of modern architecture amid the oaks and evergreens of luxu- 
riant nature, and mingled the classic melodies of Yirgil and 
the thrilling strains of Homer with the warbling minstrelsy 
of the wild wood-bird, and the monotonous hum of the even- 
ing beetle. And now, after the lapse of twenty years, the 
lovely and picturesque village of Oxford, with its quiet popu- 
lation and its crowning College, not only charms the passing 
stranger, but arrests the attention and secures the sympathies 
of the patrons of learning and the friends of Methodism 
throughout the surrounding States. 



IGNATIUS A. FEW. 



[Epitaph by the Church.J 
I. A. FEW, 

FOUNDER AND FIRST PRESIDENT 
OP 

EMORY COLLEGE, 
ELECTED DEC. 8tH, 1837, 
ENTERED UPON HIS DUTIES SEPT. IOtH, 1838, 
* RESIGNED JULY 17tH, 1839. 

"MEMORIA PRODENDA LIBERIS NOSTRIS." 
IN EARLY LIFE AN INFIDEL, BECAME A CHRISTIAN 
FROM CONVICTION; AND FOR MANY YEARS OF DEEP AFFLICTION, 
WALKED BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD. 
A PROFOUND THEOLOGIAN, AND AN EARNEST, ELOQUENT PREACHER, 
WHOSE SERMONS AND WHOSE LIFE AND DEATH EXHIBITED IN 
BEAUTIFUL HARMONY, PROFOUND WISDOM AND CHILDLIKE SIMPLICITY, 
AND HUMBLE AND UNFALTERING CONFIDENCE IN GOD, 



[Epitaph by the College Societies.] 
I. A. FEW, 

VIVIT NON MORTUUS EST. 

A TRIBUTE OF 

LOVE AND VENERATION TO EXALTED WORTH, 

FROM THE 

Few and Phi G^amma Societies 

OF 

Emory College, 

SISTER associations WHO THUS DELIGHT TO HONOR 
THE MEMORY OP 
THEIR COMMON FOUNDER AND PATRON. 



82:0 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



[Masonic Inscription.] 

THE GRAND LODGE OF GEORGIA 

EKECTS THIS MONUMENT IN TOKEN OP HIGH EEGARD 

FOR A DECEASED BROTHER, 

IGNATIUS A. FEW, 

Who departed this life in Athens, Ga., Nov. 28th, 1845, 
Aged 56 years, 7 months, and 17 days. 
He -was born April 11th, 1789, in Columbia County, 
then the county of Richmond, in this state, 
as a mason he possessed all those noble traits 
of character which constitute the worthy brother 
OF this ancient and honorable order, 
as a minister of the gospel he exemplified the 
beautiful description of the poet: 

"His theme divine, 
His office sacred, his credentials clear. 
By him the violated Law spoke out 
Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet 
As Angels use, the Gospel whispered peace." 

As a Patron of Education and Learning, 
HIS compliment is seen in the buildings 
which this monument confronts. 

As A Patriot, he was among the first on the battle-field 
at his country's call, in the war of 1812, from which he returned 
with honor, to honor that country as a private citizen. 
In Private Life he was distinguished for the amenity of his 
manners, the warmth of his friendship, his high social qualities, 

AND his varied AND USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. 

Masons, Christians, Scholars, Patriots, and Citizens, 
join each in the sentiment, 

"Care vale! sed non eternum, care, valeto. 
Namque iterum tecum sim, mode dignus ero. 
Tum nihil amplexus poterit divellere nostros, 
Nec tu marceses, nec lachrymabo ego." 



MAETIN RUTEE. 



321 



MAETIIT EUTER. 

BY MRS. S. R. CAMPBELL. 

j Among the papers of tlie late Dr. Enter was a manuscript, 
a concise Antobiography, witliont the aid of which, the fol- 
lowing sketch would not have been undertaken. It is given 
to the public entire, as it came from his own pen; as this 
form of biography is always most interesting and acceptable 
to the public, and is especially so to relatives and personal 
friends. To this is added a short narrative, interwoven with 
tributes to the memory of the deceased, and testimonials to 
the estimation in which he was held as a scholar and a Chris- 
tian minister. The sketch might have been much extended, 
but it was judged preferable to confine it within somewhat 
narrow limits. 

"I was born in Charleton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, 
April 3, 1785. My parents were in early life communicants 
of the Baptist denomination, but afterwards became members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which communion 
they both lived and died. "When not more than three years 
of age, I had serious impressions, and these increased with 
years, until 1799, when I resolved to devote my life to religion. 
In the autumn of that year I experienced the pardon of sin, 
and enjoyed peace of mind. In the following winter I joined 
21 



322 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

the Metliodist Episcopal Church. I had a taste for learning 
and a thirst for knowledge from m^^ earliest recollections. 
This taste I. cherished bj improving diligently such oppor- 
tunities as I had of private studies at home, and in attending 
the schools in the neighborhood where I lived. My father 
being poor, was unable to give me either a liberal education 
or those academical advantages which I earnestly desired to 
obtain. The deficiencies of my education I endeavored to 
supply, as far as I was able, by my own industry; and in these 
efforts, continued through a course of many years' study, I 
have not been altogether unsuccessful. 

"It sometimes occurred forcibly to my mind, even before I 
professed religion, that I should be called to preach the 
gospel. After experiencing religion these impressions in- 
creased, and I turned my attention closely to the study of 
divinity. 

"In the summer of 1800, I received license to exhort, from 
the Rev. John Brodhead, Presiding Elder of ISTew London 
District, which then embraced certain parts of Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, 'New Hampshire, and Vermont. With him I 
travelled about three months, for the purpose of receiving 
instruction in divinity. In the autumn of 1800 I received 
license to preach ; and during the ensuing winter and spring 
I travelled under the authority of the same Presiding Elder, 
on ethersneld Circuit, Vermont, with the Rev. John Mchols. 
In the following June, 1801, I attended the New York Annual 
Conference, in the city of New York, was admitted on trial, 
and appointed to travel with Abner Wood, upon Chesterfield 
Circuit, lying partly in New Hampshire and partly in ]\Iassa- 
chusetts. In 1802 I was appointed to travel with Phinehas 
Peck, on Landaff Circuit, ^Tew Hampshire. In 1803 I 
attended the ISTew York Conference at Ashgrove, was or- 



MAETIN KUTER. 



323 



dained a deacon, and appointed to travel alone upon Adams 
Circuit. The following year, 1804, I received my appoint- 
ment to Montreal, Lower Canada, where I remained (having 
visited Quebec during the time) until near the time for the 
sittino: of the N'ew York Conference in 1805. I then attended 
the Conference, which w^as held at Ashgrove ; was ordained 
an elder, being a little over twenty years of age, and ap- 
pointed to Bridgewater Circuit, ISTew Hampshire, having 
Benjamin Bishop appointed to travel with me. This appoint- 
ment transferred me to the 'New England Conference. 

"How wonderful is the providence of God, and how great 
are his mercies ! From the bosom of obscurity, in which I 
drew my first breath, how wonderfully have I been led, step 
by step, unto the place I am permitted to hold as a member 
and as a minister in the Church. I^othing of this is due to 
myself : I have been a most unfaithful and unprofitable ser- 
vant. By the grace of God I am what I am ; and 0 that my 
whole life in future may be devoted to his service ! 

"In 1806 I was appointed to I^forthfield, 'New Hampshire, 
and in 1807 to Portsmouth and llTottingham. In 1808 I was 
appointed to Boston, with the Rev. Daniel lYebb. At the 
sitting of the New England Conference for this year, which 
was held in New London in April, the preachers Vv^ere so 
convinced of the necessity of establishing a delegated General 
Conference, they resolved in favor of it, and elected seven of 
their members to attend the General Conference to be held 
in Baltimore in Ma}^ follovv^ing, as delegates to that body. 
Being one of the seven appointed, I attended the General 
Conference, which was the first in which I had ever been 
present. In the course of its session the plan of delegation 
from the Annual Conferences to the General Conference was 
completed and established. 



324 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



'^In 1809 I was appointed to ITew Hampshire District, wliicli 
I travelled two years. In 1811 I was appointed to Portland, 
Maine ; and in 1812 and 1813, having obtained a looation, I 
lived in ITorth Yarmouth, preaching in that place and its 
vicinity. 

" The following year, 1814, I was readmitted at the Con- 
ference in Durham, and appointed to E'orth Yarmouth and 
Freeport. In 1815, I was stationed at Salisbury, in Massa- 
chusetts; and in 1816 attended the General Conference in 
Baltimore. In 1816 and 1817, I was stationed at Phila- 
delphia. These two years were attended with severe trials 
and extraordinary blessings. In May, 1818, the Asbury Col- 
lege, in Baltimore, conferred upon me the degree of Master 
of Arts. This year I was appointed to the charge of the IsTew 
Market Wesleyan Academy, which had been established 
under the E'ew England Conference. In 1819, I was ap- 
pointed to Portsmouth, l^ew Hampshire, but remained at 
the Academy, in conformity with an arrangement made by 
the Eev. George Pickering, the Presiding Elder. 

" In 1820, I attended the General Conference in Baltimore, 
and was elected Book Agent, to conduct the Book Concern 
at Cincinnati. In 1824, I attended the General Conference, 
and was reelected to the charge of the Book Concern at 
Cincinnati, to conduct its affairs until 1828. In 1822, with- 
out any knowledge or anticipation of the fact, I received the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Transylvania Univer- 
sity, in Lexington, Kentucky 

During the eight years in which I had charge of the Book 
Concern in Cincinnati, I conducted its affairs almost wholly 
by my own personal efforts. I employed no clerk, did all 
the writing myself, and conducted the whole business with 
the least expense to the Church that was practicable. In 



MARTIN RUTER. 325 

attending the Western Conferences, and in other necessary 
journeys, I travelled, during the eight years, more than nine 
thousand miles. I superintended a number, of publications, 
and managed a capital of more than sixty thousand dollars. 
At the close of the term, in 1828, it appeared from the 
accounts of the Book Agents at "New York, that the Concern 
had gained an amount of about seven thousand dollars. 
Believing that I was promoting the interests of the Church, 
and my solicitude for the prosperity of the Concern in the 
West being very great, I used the greatest exertions in my 
power, and made as many sacrifices as my situation would 
permit. 

" Before the term of my agency expired, I was chosen Presi- 
dent of Augusta College. The only objection I felt to accept- 
ing this appointment was, that it would call my attention, in 
some degree, from the more immediate labors of the ministry, 
and might lessen my own progress in Christian experience. 
But I had seen, when in charge of the i^ew Market Academy, 
and long before I went there, that the Church needed semi- 
naries of learning, and could not conduct its important 
interests without them. I saw that these seminaries, unless 
carefully conducted, would not accomplish the purposes 
intended. I therefore accepted the appointment, determining 
to spend a few years, not many, in seeing what might be 
accomplished in this way for the prosperity of our Zion. In 
being released from the cares of the Book Concern, I felt 
myself released from an oppressive burden, and have felt 
thankfal to that glorious Providence that guided and pre- 
served me through it. I now saw and felt the approach of 
other new and very responsible cares, but felt a hope that the 
same Divine assistance would be continued. 

" Soon after the General Conference of 1828, which was held 



326 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



in Pittsburg, and at wliich. I was Secretary, I removed to 
Augusta, in accordance with the advice of Bishop George 
and Bishop Hedding, and took charge of the College. This 
office I held for more than four years, having first the ap- 
pointment of the Trustees, and the annual appointment 
from the Conference until August, 1832, when I resigned it. 
In May of this year I attended the G-eneral Conference at 
Philadelphia. At this time I felt an earnest desire to be 
given up exclusively to the work of the ministry. 'No honors, 
no emoluments seemed of value, compared with the great 
duties of preaching the gospel of Christ, and being actively 
engaged in pointing sinners to him. My resignation at the 
College was dictated by these views, and some objects con- 
nected with the welfare of my family, but the leading object 
was to devote my time wholly to the duties of the ministry. 

''About the time of my resignation in August, I was trans- 
ferred from the Kentucky to the Pittsburg Conference, and 
stationed at Pittsburg, having Thomas Drummond for my 
colleague. This year was distinguished by a glorious revival 
in Pittsburg, and great prosperity to the Church throughout 
the boundaries of the Conference. 

"In July, 1833, I attended the Pittsburg Conference, held 
in Meadville, and was reappointed to Pittsburg, having 
Peter M. McGrowan and Hiram Gillmore for my colleagues. 

"At this Conference a resolution was passed, that the Pitts- 
burg Annual Conference will, under certain arrangements, 
patronize Alleghany College. By a vote of the Conference, 
I was nominated President of the College, and was accord- 
ingly appointed by the Trustees. A new embarrassment now 
arose, in reference to what might be my duty. I had not 
only no desire to enter again upon College duties, but I 
earnestly desired, at least in reference to this College, to be 



MARTIN RUTEE. 327 

exempted from undertaking them. My brethren thonglit 
differently, and urged to me the importance to the Church 
of improving the opportunity now offered in securing the 
advantages of a good College for the benefit of our people 
and of the community. I therefore consented to take charge 
of this College for a season; and near the close of my 
second year in Pittsburgh, in June, 1834, I removed to 
Meadville for the purpose of entering upon the duties as- 
signed me. 

"In July, 1834, I attended the Pittsburg Conference held 
in Washington, Pa., and received my appointment to the 
College and Meadville station, where I now am, and where I 
must remain for a season, perhaps two or three years, until 
the College shall have acquired a degree of prosperity and 
permanency sufficient to secure its usefulness. So soon as 
that shall be accomplished, it is my earnest desire, and I 
hope I shall be permitted to retire from Meadville, and enter 
on duties in which I may be equally useful, and enjoy more 
extensively the comforts of Divine grace. In the mean time, 

0 that God may give me a double portion of his Spirit, that I 
may at all times know and be able and willing to do my 
duties, whatever they may be. Hitherto, in all the labors 
and trials of my life, his grace has been sufficient for me. 
"Will he forsake me now ? I trust his promise ; and though 

1 have been an unfaithful, unprofitable servant, my hope is 
that he will enable me to devote the remnant of my days, 
many or few, more to his glory and pleasure than any of 
those I have already enjoyed. Glory be to the Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit, through all time and all eternity, world 
without end. Amen. 

''M, EUTER." 

Meadville, Jan. 10th, 1835." 



328 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



The following was afterwards added : 

"In August of 1835, I attended the Pittsburg Annual 
Conference, and was elected one of the delegates to the 
General Conference to be held in Cincinnati in the following 
May. Having received my appointment for this year at the 
College, I returned to Meadville, and continued, as usual, my 
labors at that institution. The College was rendered pros- 
perous beyond the expectations of its friends, and had many 
pious young men among the students of promising talents. 

" In May, 1836, I attended the General Conference at Cin- 
cinnati, and felt an earnest desire to be more actively 
engaged in the itinerant work of the ministry. At this Con- 
ference I offered myself as a missionary to Texas, to go 
whenever it should be deemed a proper time for entering 
that field of labor. The Superintendents were all consulted 
on the subject, and all agreed in an opinion favorable to the 
enterprise. It was believed that the unsettled condition of 
the country, in reference to its political relations, was not 
suitable for the immediate establishment of a mission, but 
that, in all probability, it might be within a few months. 
All were favorable to my appointment, when the proper time 
should arrive. 

"I returned to Meadville, and resumed my collegiate 
labors, in which I continued until the following June. In 
April, 1837, 1 received a letter from Bishop Hedding, inform- 
ing me that I was appointed Superintendent of the mission to 
Texas, and that two brethren, namely, Littleton Fowler and 
Kobert Alexander were appointed to go with me. After con- 
sulting with my wife, and deliberating prayerfully, I deter- 
mined on going to Texas, according to the appointment I 
had received. Bishop Hedding had calculated on my leaving 
Meadville in season to reach Texas in the autumn, and gave 



MARTIN EUTER. 



329 



fall liberty to decline going, if I saw any cause for so doing. 
It appeared to me a mission of the utmost importance to tlie 
inhabitants of Texas and to the Church ; and I felt a strong 
desire to be useful in that distant land. In J uly, I took an 
affectionate leave of the trustees, faculty, and students of 
Alleghany College, and of the citizens of Meadville, and 
removed with my family to E"ew Albany, intending to leave 
them there for a few months, and proceed to Texas alone. 
Finding, after my arrival at 'New Albany, that the yellow fever 
was raging at New Orleans, and various places in the lower 
country, I delayed a few weeks. During my delay I visited 
Cincinnati, Louisville, Shelbyville, and Lexington, and held 
missionary meetings. In all these places I found the people 
favorable to missions, and they contributed liberally in sup- 
port of this." 

Here the personal narrative closes, without signature, as it 
was, doubtless, the writer's intention to add an account of his 
labors and success in the mission to Texas. But the sum- 
mons came ; 

" Tranquil amid alarms, 

It found him on the field — 
A vet'ran, slumbering on his arms, 
Beneath his red-cross shield." 

My recollections of my sainted father are still vivid ; and 
as nearly twenty years have passed since he left us, I may, 
perhaps, be permitted to speak of him as of another, without 
the imputation of undue partiality. 

His excellences of character were many, prominent among 
which were his calm, deliberate judgment, his inflexible in- 
tegrity, and a desire to do good, which seemed the main- 
spring of all his actions. He was remarkably alive to all his 
responsibilities, of whatever character, ever desirous to 



330 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



i 



acquit himself well in his sphere of life and action. As a 
parent, his care and instructions were unceasing. "Well do I 
remember the interest he manifested for my welfare, from the 
first dawn of recollection, till he was called to his reward 
from the plains of Texas. This watchfulness over his 
children never flagged — he always seemed as a sentinel at 
the post of duty. And however multiplied and onerous 
were his public duties and labors, he yet found time for the 
full discharge of parental obligation, devoting hours, oft- 
repeated, through a series of years, to conversations with 
them on the subjects of religion, morality, science, etc. 

His concern for the religious welfare of his children was 
very great. I often left home in my youthful days, for brief 
or longer periods, as circumstances might dictate, but if for a 
few days only, my father was the last at my side, and, with 
the parting adieu, a word of seasonable warning was 
whispered in my ear, such as, "Don't forget to pray," or, 
" Don't forget that you have named the Saviour." 'No one 
was more tremblingly alive to the temptations that encom- 
pass young persons, especially the ensnaring allurements of 
gay, fascinating company, and the entanglements of worldly 
pleasure; hence those oft-repeated admonitions, which were 
not confined to personal intercourse, but found place in his 
letters during absence — for he always took time, amid the 
pressing cares of business, to correspond with absent mem- 
bers of the family, with a view to continued admonition, 
warning, and encouragement. I have numerous letters of 
his to me, now lying before me, scarce one of which closes 
without some word "fitly spoken," in favor of religious con- 
secration. In one of them, he says, "I hope you do not, for 
a moment, lose sight of the great concerns of religion." In 
another, " You have now time for meditation, prayer, read- 



MARTIN RUTER. 



331 



ing religious books," etc. In a letter written during his 
connection witli Alleghany College, he writes : " IsTew Year's 
Day was the commencement of our Quarterly Meeting, which 
was continued for two weeks, every day and every evening. 
Many were awakened, and I think much good was done. 
About fifty have been received on trial, many of them excel- 
lent members, and some are students." Some months after- 
ward, he thus refers to the spiritual declension that followed 
this revival: ^' Since the revival here, there seems to be a 
return of dulness among some of the members. This often 
follows revivals of religion, though it need not be." He 
thus closes another letter: "Do not forget the greatest of all 
concerns. Time files ; and great changes await all the liv- 
ing." I was from home when the cholera first commenced its 
ravages, and in one of his letters at that time he says: " The 
cholera seems to be all around us, at Erie, Cleaveland, 
Chambersburg, Cumberland, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Lex- 
ington. But it seems useless to fiee from it. The wise course 
is for all to prepare for death, and put their trust in Divine 
Providence. If it reaches Augusta," (I was then there,) "it 
will be best not to be alarmed, but to be very prudent in 
diet, and in keeping from the night air." Such was his care 
for both the spiritual and temporal interests of absent mem- 
bers of his family. 

I have spoken of him as a father: as a husband, it is 
enough to say, that she who has passed nearly twenty years 
of widowhood, still mourns him as her best earthly friend. 
He was twice married. Of his first marriage, a daughter and a 
son were born to him. The latter was summoned away, with 
the smile of infancy still upon his brow; the former in 
the bright noontide of earthly enjoyment passed to her 
heavenly home. Of his second marriage, seven out of eight 



332 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



cliildren survive ; the other one sleeps in the isle of Galves- 
ton. 

My father enjoyed, in a high degree, the society of his 
friends and the delights of social converse. He was pos- 
sessed of fine conversational powers, which, united with his 
urbane manners and general information, rendered his society 
much sought after. Almost every subject, whether of science, 
politics, or religion, was sufficiently familiar to him for the 
purposes of animated conversation, or even of discussion. 
He was specially gifted with taste in the fine arts. Of music, 
painting, and poetry, he was very fond; and though he 
seldom sang other than sacred music, yet odes and martial 
23ieces possessed a great charm for him, especially the latter. 
Indeed, calm and unimpassioned as he generally appeared, it 
was the triumph of grace over nature, for the excitement of 
politics and camps would have been quite in unison with his 
natural feelings. But grace had held the empire of his heart, 
even from his boyhood days, for he was but fourteen when he 
professed religion ; and from that time to the close of life, we 
have no intimation of religious declension. 

Among his friends, the ministers and members of his own 
Church were generally the chosen ones, as was most meet. 
But he was far from being bigoted ; and those of other deno- 
minations and literary men were his frequent guests. He 
was fond of female society, regarding woman in general as 
entitled to superior courtesy. Many of the gifted and pious 
among them will long remember him. He never sought con- 
troversy, but, both with his pen and his pulpit efibrts, he 
would defend the doctrines and usages of his Church when 
assailed: yet it was for the love of truth, not controversy; 
and that his motives were duly appreciated, is shown by the 
fact of his having been so often called upon to minister for 



MARTIN EUTER. 



833 



other denominations. Some of liis warmest friends, also, 
were connected with other Churches. In a letter to me, 
dated Meadville, Pa., he says : "Last Sabbath I preached for 
Mr. "West, (the Presbyterian minister there,) who was absent. 
His congregation appeared much as they were when I 
preached to them last fall. I have engaged to preach next 
Sabbath for Mr. Crumpton, (the Episcopalian minister there,) 
who will be absent at the Convention. As we have a full 
supply of ministers, I can, without difficulty, labor occasion- 
ally for other denominations, and hope it may be doing 
good." 

But though liberal in his religious views and feelings, he 
was yet ardently attached to Methodism ; and the preachers 
found a cordial welcome at his house. "Well do I remember 
those holy men, some of them gifted with fine talents, others 
men of good attainments, and all of them zealously devoted 
to their Master's service. Their visits to a household were 
like those of a cherished relative. Kind and affectionate in 
their intercourse with the children of a family, they seldom 
departed without leaving an impression in favor of that 
religion they so well adorned. Most of those revered men 
have passed away, but I still remember them and their sweet 
personal exhortations at leave-taking ; and this is but a slight 
tribute to their piety and worth. 

Few men performed more effective service in the itinerant 
ranks than my father, for, entering the ministry so early, at 
the age of sixteen years, he had travelled twenty years when 
elected Book Agent; and during his connection with the 
Book Agency and the two Colleges over which he presided, he 
still preached. Indeed, while discharging his College duties 
at Meadville, he was also the station-preacher for a time. He 
was self-denying in all things, not counting as any hardship 



334 



BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



the renunciation of ease, or emolument, or worldly pleasure, 
in view of the duties and rewards of his holj calling. With 
him his ministry in the gospel was always foremost — all else 
secondary; and though so fond of literature, in its whole 
range, yet all his attainments and reputation in the republic of 
letters were laid a consecrated offering at the foot of the cross. 

As a friend he was true and reliable, retaining in his later 
years the glow of love and kindly sympathy which had, in 
earlier life, bound him to others. His judgment was discrimi- 
nating, and he seldom saw cause to reverse the impressions 
he first arrived at in reference to others. His quick per- 
ception of character often surprised me, as I had frequent 
occasion, from after-circumstances, to recall the few words he 
had spoken of some chosen friend or associate. 

Of his infancy and early childhood we know but little. 
The Rev. Abel Stevens, in his Memorials of Methodism, 
in speaking of him, says, " Some time in the summer of 1799 
he became a subject of the justifying grace of God. There 
was nothing remarkable in his first experience, but there 
was a stability and gravit}^ beyond his years." I have said 
we have but little account of his very early years, but we do 
know that he was blessed with a pious mother, of whom the 
Rev. Mr. Kent says, " She was truly a mother in Israel ; and 
this but coldly speaks her praise. She lived within speaking 
distance of Paradise, and kept up a constant communica- 
tion" — a unique portraiture truly, as honorable as rare. 
The influence which such a mother exerts upon her child's 
destiny eternity alone can unfold. 

But whatever attainments he made in earthly lore were 
due, under Providence, wholly to himself; and as he has 
said but little of his literary career, it becomes necessarj' for 
those who write of him to be more explicit. His early 



MARTIN RUTER. 335 

advantages were very limited, scarce a crude foundation for 
the superstructure lie afterwards raised upon it. His scho- 
lastic pursuits, as far as schools and teachers were concerned, 
were abandoned at his early entrance into the ministry. But 
through his wdiole after-life he was a close student, so far as 
circumstances would permit, determining to supply by extra 
diligence and labor the deficiencies of earlier years. Many 
of his studies were mastered on horseback, as an itinerant 
Methodist preacher, or by the light of the cabin fire. Under 
such disadvantageous circumstances did he commence that 
extensive course of reading and study which was never 
abandoned, even amid the laborious service of maturer years. 
He was uniformly an early riser, and thus commanded the 
refreshing hours of early dawn for study, meditation, etc., 
and, also, gained some time for the claims of courtesy. But 
though an early riser, he retired late, often accomplishing 
after supper and before he retired to rest what with many 
others would have been the work of a day. Besides this self- 
denial in reference to sleep, he was very systematic in the 
distribution of his time. Perhaps no one fully appreciates the 
value of time who does not reduce its occupations, more or 
less, to a system. 

My father was not only familiar with English literature 
generally, but with the classics, both ancient and modern. 
He understood the Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and French lan- 
guages, besides having so far mastered several other languages 
and dialects as to be able to translate them. He was also 
versed in both the pure and mixed mathematics. Of the 
French language he was particularly fond ; and having had 
opportunities during his early mission to Canada to learn the 
accent among the French themselves, he both read and 
spoke it with more than usual accuracy. 



336 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



As early as the year 1821, lie was tendered a professorsMp — 
that of Oriental Literature — in the Cincinnati College. But 
though literary efforts and occupations possessed a magic 
charm for him, yet such a situation would have conflicted 
with his obligations to the Church at that time, and was 
therefore declined. He was also elected to the Presidency 
of three several Colleges, and other literary honors and dis- 
tinctions were conferred upon him. 

His literary works may be divided into two classes, viz. : 
the finished and the unfinished. Of the former are a Collec- 
tion of Miscellaneous Pieces, a small duodecimo, made up 
of selections from the best English authors, selected with a 
view to intellectual and moral improvement; Explanatory 
ITotes on the Mnth Chapter of Romans ; A Sketch of Calvin's 
Life and Doctrine; A Letter, addressed to Rev. Erancis 
Brown, pastor of a Church in E^orth Yarmouth, containing an 
Answer to his Defence of Calvin and Calvinism ; The 'New 
American Primer ; The New American Spelling-Book ; An 
Arithmetic; A Hebrew Grammar; A History of Martyrs; 
An Ecclesiastical History; Conjugation of French Regular 
Verbs, for the classes at Augusta College. 

Among the unfinished works are, A Plea for Africa, con- 
sidered principally as a field for missionary labor; Life of 
Bishop Asbury ; Sermons and Letters on various subjects. 

Of his writings, some were merely, or partially, compila- 
tions, but the majority were entirely original, and he has care- 
fully distinguished between them. His connection with the 
two Colleges over which he presided was not matter of personal 
choice, but undertaken at the instance of his brethren in the 
ministry, and also in the hope of thus promoting the interests 
of the Church of his choice. But for the satisfactory manner 
in which he discharged his duties in those Colleges, there is 



MAKTIN RUTEK. 337 

ample proof. Upon liis resignation of tlie Presidency of 
Augusta College, the following tribute appeared in tlie Mays- 
ville Eagle : 

"Dr. Euter. — This gentleman has recently retired from 
the charge as President of Augusta College, and however 
adequately his place may be supplied by his enlightened and 
amiable successor, it is due to Dr. Ruter, upon retiring, to 
say he has served the Institution with ability and industry 
every way equal to the expectations of his friends and the 
public. Dr. Enter was President of the College for the term 
of five years, and we venture to say no man ever labored 
more indefatigably for the good of any similar enterprise; 
and his zealous and ever-assiduous efforts, in public and in 
private, have contributed not a little to the present promise 
and prosperity of the Institution. The friends and patrons 
of the College must always feel themselves deeply indebted 
to the exertions of Dr. Euter ; and no history of the College 
can ever exist without honorable mention of his name. It 
was grateful to the friends of the College to hear him 
declare that no want of confidence in the success of the Insti- 
tution had induced him to resign, but a conviction that he 
owed it to his family to do so. He expressed the strongest 
confidence in the prosperity of the College, and in its ultimate 
success. "Wherever he may go, the best wishes of numerous 
friends in this region will follow him ; and his great moral 
and religious worth, as well as varied literary accomplish- 
ments, entitle him to the confidence of all who may have 
occasion to seek his services, either as a minister or as a man 
of letters." 

As an evidence of the estimation in which he stood with 
the Trustees and Faculty, it is just to add, that three years 
after his resignation of the Presidency of the College, it was 
22 



338 



BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



again tendered to his acceptance by the joint invitation of 
both Board and Faculty. He was at that time connected 
with Alleghany College, but was even then maturing mea- 
sures to enter more effectively the itinerant field. Of course 
it was declined. To his continued regard for the welfare of 
that College, his correspondence with the Trustees, and his 
letters to absent members of the family, testify. 

From the impelling force of circumstances, he afterward 
became identified with the Alleghany College at Meadville, 
Pa., and there remained till his departure for the mission to 
Texas. Upon retiring from the Presidency of that College, 
he published an article in reference to it, from which we 
make some extracts : 

''It is now almost four years since the Pittsburg Annual 
Conference entered into an agreement with the Trustees of 
this Institution. The Conference held its session of 1833 
at Meadville, and the agreement was made between the two 
parties for the purpose of resuscitating the College, at that 
time without a student and without a professor. On the 
part of the Trustees it was stipulated that they would place 
the College under the patronage and direction of the Con- 
ference, by creating vacancies in the Board, and filling them 
with such persons as the Conference should nominate, and 
thus provide that a majority of the Board should consist 
perpetually of that nomination and their successors. And it 
was agreed on the part of the Conference, that on those con- 
ditions they would bestow upon it their patronage, place it, 
so far as practicable, in successful operation, and take mea- 
sures for securing funds, with a view to its permanent pros- 
perity. The result of this agreement is apparent in the 
success that has followed. Perhaps no seminary of learning 
ever advanced more rapidly than this has since that time. 



MARTIN RUTER. 



339 



It lias liad, for each year, more than one hundred students — 
has at this time above that number — and in relation to the 
requisites for a useful Institution it is more prosperous than 
at any former period. At the reorganization of the College 
in 1833, in conformity with the recommendation of the Con- 
ference, the Trustees appointed me President of the Faculty. 
For the purpose of meeting the wishes of my brethren, and 
desiring to contribute my full share towards promoting the 
interests of education in our Church and country, I disre- 
garded my own inclinations, and accepted the appointment 
for a season. Since entering upon the duties thus assigned 
me, I have endeavored to meet the views and wishes of the 
Conferences, (Pittsburg and Erie,) and of the Trustees, and 
have done the utmost in my power to secure the permanent 
prosperity of the Institution, keeping in view the entire suc- 
cess of all its departments, and the welfare of the students. 
But it has been my uniform intention, and so expressed to 
the Conferences, to labor in a different sphere of usefulness, 
whenever I could retire from the College without any injury 
to its interests. Believing I can now do this, leaving the 
different departments in the care of an able and diligent 
successor and a talented Faculty, and finding a door opened 
for me to enter on other labors, probably as useful to the 
Church as any I could undertake, it seems expedient that I 
should follow the openings of Providence. In taking lea,ve 
of this flourishing seminary of learning, many interesting 
seasons of agreeable associations recur to my remembrance. 
I trust its usefulness in the diffusion of science among the 
youth of our land will be long continued, that many who 
enjoy its advantages will become stars in the literary and 
Christian world, and that the blessings of Heaven may rest 
upon its friends and patrons." 



340 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

From this time lie considered himself as more fully 
identified with the regular work of the ministry, and com- 
pleted the necessary arrangements for departing on his mission. 

He arrived in Texas toward the last of Xovember, 1837, 
and immediately commenced his arduous and self-denying 
labors. He had counted the cost, and carried with him the 
burning zeal and devotion of the Christian soldier and 
martyr. True, he was not called to wear the martyr's crown, 
for he was received everywhere with cordial welcome. In- 
deed, so great was the eagerness of the people for the word 
of life, that he felt impelled to severer toil than consisted 
with prudence. But his whole heart was in the work, and 
with the steadfast eye of faith he looked confidently to the 
spiritual regeneration of the Eepnblic. His journal, as kept 
by himself during his sojourn there, notes, day by day, his 
labors, from the beo:innino: of each month to its close. Scarce 
a day was passed except in active service. Here is a tran- 
script from his journal, for one month, the first, as an illustra- 
tion of his conformity to the injunction, " Eedeeming the 
time:" 

" Crossed the Sabine on the 23d l^ov., 1837. Tarried for the 
night at Games' s, where I met Brother Alexander. Friday, 24. 
Eode to San Augustine, and preached to a small assembly in 
a school-house. Saturday, 25. Eode to Ingleduve's house, 
within eight miles of Xacogdoches. Sabbath morning, 26. 
Eode to T^acogdoches and preached two sermons in the 
Masonic Hall, to an attentive congregation. Continued my 
journey, and on "Wednesday evening reached Mr. Mitchel's 
house and preached. Continued my journey until Friday, 
Dec. 1, when I reached Washington on the Brazos, and 
preached in the evening, at a school-house, to an attentive 
audience. On Saturday, 2, preached again. Sunday, 3. 



MARTIN RUTBR. 



341 



Attended Sabbath-school and addressed the children and 
teachers ; heard a Baptist preacher, by the name of Morrell, 
at eleven o'clock, and preached at three to an attentive 
audience, then met the class, and received one into Society. 
Felt encouraged in the work of the Lord. 0, may Christ's 
kingdom rapidly advance in Texas ! Amen. Monday, 4. 
Rode thirty miles in^ going to a Mr. Foster's, (twenty-two,) 
by losing m}^ way. Tuesday, 5. Eode to Eev. J. W. Kenny's, 
five miles, and to Mr. Ayres's, five miles. Wednesday, 6. 
Rode again to Mr. Kenny's. Thursday, 7. To San Felipe. 
Friday, 8. To Mercer's neighborhood, on the Colorado. This 
ride was through a thirty-five miles prairie, amidst heavy rains. 
Saturday, 9. Preached in the evening at Captain Hurd's. 
Sabbath, 10. Preached in the same place at eleven, and at 
three to the blacks, twelve in number. At candlelighting 
heard Brother Kenny preach, then met a few in class, and 
formed a Society of nine members. Monday, 11. Went to 
Fort Bend, over a prairie of thirty-six miles. Tuesday, 12. 
Yery difficult travelling, on account of a violent storm. 
Went seven miles to Dr. Hunter's, and put up until Wednes- 
day morning. On Wednesday, 13, came to Houston, twenty- 
five miles ; here remained a week, became acquainted with 
the place, people, members of the Legislature, officers, etc. 
Sunday, 17. Preached in Congress Hall, morning and night. 
Afternoon, had a meeting with Brother Fowler and others, 
with a good congregation, to form a Sunday-school Society, 
and succeeded remarkably well. Wednesday, 20. Went to 
Cartwright's. Thursday, 21. Went to San Felipe, and put 
up with Rev. Henry Mathews, M. D. Friday, 22. Rode to 
Rev. J. W. Kenny's, through the prairie lands, against a 
north wind. Saturday, 23. Visited Brother D. Ayres, and 
returned." 



342 BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

This extract comprises a pretty lieavj amonnt of service for 
one month, in travelling, preaching, forming Sabbath-schools, 
meeting classes, arranging societies, etc., and yet the other 
four months he spent there, up to the time of his sickness, 
were, probably, even more laborious. This voluntary offer- 
ing of himself as a missionary to Texas, was solely from the 
impulse of Christian duty — a desire to spread the savor of his 
Master's name. Few men more fully appreciated the enjoy- 
ments of home. Of this his numerous letters, when absent 
from the family, give abundant evidence. 

In one of his letters from Texas, after speaking of the 
country, he says: "I came here to bring the gospel to a des- 
titute land, and cannot be disappointed in it as a field of labor. 
If I make a future home for my family here, it will be to do 
good, not to make a fortune, or to enjoy earthly comforts. 
And if they come here, I trust they will be useful also, and 
that they will content themselves, as I do, with the hope of 
doing good. The missionaries meet with much encourage- 
ment here. My district is the whole Republic of Texas ; so 
you see how large our field of labor is." 

In another he says, "I went to the Colorado, and am the 
first travelling preacher that ever reached its shores. I went 
up to Bastrop : some of the old inhabitants said it was 
dangerous, but the people were perishing for lack of know- 
ledge in that vicinity, and I determined to visit them. I 
spent a Sabbath there, preached and formed a Society of 
fifteen members, and returned without being molested. On 
the route, we travelled thirty miles or more without seeing a 
habitation ; and saw in that space six graves of persons whom 
the Indians had killed and robbed. You see how God pro- 
tected us. I felt not the least alarm, and was confident we 
should be protected by the Divine Being. I cannot regret 




MARTIN RUTER. 343 

coming to Texas. I am convinced I could hardly liave done 
so mucli for our Zion in any other way. I have travelled, 
since I came here, about one thousand two hundred miles on 
horseback. I hope to have, by next April, a good founda- 
tion for Methodism in Texas ; but all depends on the aid of 
a glorious Providence. From present appearances, I think it 
was time to commence missionary labors here, and I rejoice in 
the glorious privilege of doing good among the destitute, who 
are glad and anxious to hear the gospel preached. If I make 
a home in Texas, or return here again after spending the 
summer in the i^orth, I must try to get some churches built, 
some school-houses commenced, and have a foundation laid 
for a college, and also have an abundance of tracts. Bibles, 
and other books scattered over the country." 

To the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church he wrote : 

Texas is a country where darkness, ignorance, and super- 
stition have long held their dominion. Profaneness, gaming, 
and intemperance are prevailing vices against which we 
have to contend. The scattered state of the population 
renders it necessary to travel far between the appointments, 
and the want of convenient places for public worship serves 
to increase the obstacles in our way ; yet amidst difficulties, 
dangers, and sufferings, we rejoice in being able to say that 
the great Eedeemer's kingdom is rising in this distant and 
destitute land. I have just returned from Bastrop, one of 
the upper settlements on the Colorado river, where the inhabit- 
ants informed me that they had had but three sermons 
preached among them during the last three years. In coming 
to this place, we passed through a part of the country not 
inhabited, but occasionally infested by Indian robbers who 
come on horseback from the north, (travelling either by 



>0 

344 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

niglit or in the forests,) for tlie purpose of stealing horses, 
and murdering and plundering travellers whom they may 
find unarmed. I went in company with three friends, armed 
with rifles. We now reckon four Circuits in Texas, namely, 
Houston, Washington, Trinity, and San Augustine, These 
we are trying, with the aid of local preachers, to supply as 
well as we are able. But we are greatly in need of more 
laborers in this interesting vineyard. It has appeared to me 
that we ought, as soon as practicable, to establish in this Re- 
public a well-endowed University and several subordinate 
schools of different gradations. In two or three places, sub- 
scriptions have been offered suf&cient for buildings ; and to 
provide permanent funds, we propose obtaining donations 
in land. Many of the citizens are extensive landholders, 
and would, while lands are cheap, make large subscriptions. 
But as lands are rising in value, a fund thus invested would 
in a short time be sufficient for the above purposes. We 
propose to pursue a similar course in obtaining grounds for 
churches and parsonages. I have been hitherto prevented 
from visiting Bexar and its vicinity, as I had intended ; but 
it seems, in some instances, more needful to supply and 
occupy places which we have explored, than to explore others 
which we cannot occupy." 

In a letter to his wife, dated February 13, 1838, he says, 
referring to the rumors that the Mexicans and Indians were 
preparing to invade Texas : 

"It is pretty well ascertained that the Mexicans are 
making no preparations for invading Texas. They are 
broken and divided among themselves, are very poor and 
destitute of means, have but little courage, and most of their 
peasantry are in as great bondage to the wealthy as are the 
Russian or Irish peasants. If no other nation meddles 



MARTIN RUTER. 345 

with Texas besides Mexico, I am convinced there is now 
nothing to fear. The present prospects of Texas are very 
encouraging. The only present danger is from the Indians. 
They do not attempt any warfare, but come down in a sly 
manner from the wilderness of the Red river in small parties, 
for the purpose of robbing and stealing horses. They travel 
either by night or in the woods, and lie in wait in thickets, 
shoot travellers that are alone or without arms, rob them of 
whatever they wish to take, go in the night to yards or pas- 
tures and steal horses, and then flee to their distant villages 
in the wilderness. It is only near the Colorado, and in the 
northern part of Texas beyond it, that they commit these 
depredations. I have been twice to the Colorado. The first 
time I went so far down as to reach it below where the 
Indians are ever seen. The second time was three weeks 
ago. I went up to Bastrop through the range where these 
wandering Arabs most resort. Three men, armed with rifles 
and well equipped, offered to accompany me, and we all went 
together. I carried no arms myself. When the Indians see 
three or four with rifles, they generally let them alone. But 
you see how much we had Divine protection. I travelled 
through quietly, and felt not the least alarm. The mission 
to Texas is sure, I think, to be successful. We have on tliis 
subject great encouragement, and I believe we are laying the 
foundation for a glorious superstructure." 

In a letter of earlier date to his wife, he says : " You men- 
tion that many people are anxious to know what I say of 
Texas. I came here chiefly for moral purposes, and did not 
intend to say much on other things, but, for the satisfaction 
of those who may inquire, I will mention a few things. The 
advantages this country offers consist chiefly in the abun- 
dance and cheapness of good land, and in the mildness of the 



346 BIOGKAPIIICAL SKETCHES.- 

climate. There is abundance of wild grass, good for pastur- 
ing, and of wild game. The sweet potatoes here are larger 
and better than I ever say anywhere else. Any poor person 
may live well here, if he is industrious. Many that come 
here are not industrious, and do not succeed so well as they 
might. Others come here and do remarkably well. Lands 
that can be obtained for one dollar per acre will, probably, 
in three ^^ears be worth ten. At present the people are 
suffering many privations on account of losses incurred by 
the war, and on account of the newness of the country. The 
inhabitants live in a scattered condition, and far from each 
other. But the tide of emigration is so great, that soon they 
will have a more dense population. Churches and schools 
are much wanted everywhere." 

We extract the following from a letter to the Eev. Wm. H. 
Eaper, of date March 10, 1838, from Egypt, on the Colorado : 

" Under many disadvantages the glorious work of God is 
advancing, and thousands are not only willing but eager to 
hear the word of salvation. We have already formed twenty 
societies in Texas, have obtained a number of lots for 
churches and school -houses, secured by deeds, and several 
meeting-houses are commenced, with a prospect of being 
soon completed. I trust, by the grace of God, to lay the foun- 
dation for a glorious superstructure, and that the Church of 
Christ will be here established in its purity, power, and 
glory. I have now travelled above fifteen hundred miles in 
this distant and destitute land, over its prairies and forests, 
and streams of water. On some of the large prairies we 
travel a whole day, and might travel in some directions 
longer, without seeing a house or human being. But the 
wild beasts and fowls are seen in great numbers, and often 
seem almost as tame as domestic animals. Texas is well 



MARTIN RUTER. 347 

adapted for tlie industrious poor, and multitudes seem to be 
aware of it, and are coming to it in large numbers. Indeed, 
the rich, the poor, the pious, and the impious, seem deter- 
mined on making this their home." Speaking of the prairies 
he says : "As on the ocean, the horizon is formed by the 
union of the blue sky with the smooth surface ; and when 
clothed with the verdure of spring, spangled with the richest 
flowers, and brightened with the sunbeams of heaven, it 
seems, indeed, a fit place for the assemblies of angels ; no 
human voice, no hum of business, the world shut out as out 
of a closet. But who can doubt that God is there ? Who 
that is devout can fail to experience his presence, and to 
enjoy communion with the Divine Spirit ? "When the prairie 
is wrapped in the terrors of a storm, the scene is greatly 
changed : still, God is there, and he that trusts in him, though 
far from any covert, may quietly and joyfully witness the war 
of raging elements." 

In a letter to me, January 9, 1838, he says : " I have just 
returned from a neighborhood lying fifteen or twenty miles 
from this place, [Washington,] one part of which is called 
Independence. The inhabitants are generally in good cir- 
cumstances, and some are wealthy. I found them ready to 
hear preaching, and some urged me to think of that place 
for the residence of my family, as they seem to take it for 
granted that I shall remove to Texas. It is, in some respects, 
the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It consists of 
rolling prairies, and on some of them the prospect is very 
grand. I presume the horizon, in some directions, is from 
thirty to fifty miles, and very distant in every direction. It 
seems almost like the vast ocean. In the spring these rolling 
lands are not only green with grass, but covered with flowers, 
and are said to appear like enchanted grounds. They have 



348 



BIOaRAPHlCAL SKETCHES. 



a cliarter for an academy, and are desirous of a female aca- 
demy first. This neighborhood and Bastrop on the Colorado 
are two places which I have thought might be kept in view, 
if we all come to Texas. "Washington, where I now am, will 
soon be a place of some importance in business, but, being 
shut in by forests, is not so desirable a spot. The country 
generally, on the Colorado, is said to be very fine. Beyond 
it is the San Antonio country, said to be the most brilliant 
part of Texas, but it has but few settlements, though the city 
of Bexar (pronounced Bahar) is in the midst of it, having 
two or three thousand inhabitants. I expect, next week, to 
visit Bastrop, and proceed above it about forty miles up the 
Colorado, which I am told is as far as I can go safely, on 
account of Indians ; but, so far, they have expressed a desire 
for preaching, and I shall form a circuit to include them. 
The emigrants are generally aiming at the Colorado, and will 
soon form upon its banks a dense population. I have been 
down near to the mouth of it, but the country there is not so 
healthful as farther north. The Colorado is a beautiful river, 
not much larger than French Creek, but seems deeper. The 
rivers in Texas are all comparatively small, though high and 
large in the spring. I have ridden across the Trinidad, and 
twice across the Brazos. I have also forded the 1^^'eches and 
the Angelina, (pronounced Angelene.) About thirty miles 
below Washington the land becomes fiat, and the prairies 
seem like the ocean. The flat lands are more wet and less 
healthful. All the middle parts of Texas, though they have 
no mountains, have swells, and present a beautiful surface. 
My labors in Texas will be directed to forming societies and 
circuits, establishing schools, and making arrangements for 
a college or university. The climate here is comparatively 
mild, but the winds and storms are sometimes very severe 



MARTIN RUTER. 



349 



aud tedious. I have not yet seen any snow. Yesterday I 
ate salad of lettuce, full grown, and greens are common, cliiefly 
of mustard leaves. Some of the people here are very ricli, 
some very poor, some religious, and some very profligate. 
But preachers are needed, and preaching beyond measure. I 
feel certain our mission will have entire success. We have 
now twelve societies." 

The following extract is from a letter to the Rev. Z. H. 
Costen, Feb. 28th: "I reached this country in safety, have 
been in it between three and four months, and shall remain, 
perhaps, as much longer before returning to my family. The 
prospects of this mission are equal to our highest expectations. 
When we arrived here, there was not a Protestant church in 
the whole land, and scarcely any other. "We have now 
several houses soon to be built, having obtained lots for 
them, and some are already begun. Societies have been 
formed in various places, and the calls in different parts for 
preaching are far more numerous than we are able to supply. 
"We meet with many disadvantages, such as are peculiar to 
all new countries, but not greater than I have experienced in 
Canada, and even in some of the new settlements in the 
United States. One thing gives us contentment and abun- 
dant consolation, namely, the evident approbation of Heaven 
upon our labors." 

From a letter to the Secretary of the Missionary Society, 
dated Dec. 10th, we extract a few lines : 

^' On Saturday, 9th, we arrived at a place which, on account 
of its fruitfulness, is called Egypt, and in the evening preach- 
ed, as we did, also, on the Sabbath, morning and evening, 
and formed a society of ten members. In the afternoon I 
gathered a small assembly of colored persons, and preached 
to them. The colored people in this country are not nume- 



350 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



roii3. From this place I expect to proceed to Bastrop, on 
the Colorado, to some settlements thirty or forty miles above 
that place ; and if I can find an armed company in readiness 
to proceed to Bexar, on the San Antonio river, I intend going 
with them to that city. My object will be to know, by 
personal observation, the state of the inhabitants, and in 
what settlements they will readily receive preaching. Those 
who go at this time into that part of Texas, generally go in 
companies of five, six, or more, armed with pistols, rifles, etc., 
on account of the Indians ; but whether in company or 
alone, I shall carry no weapons made with hands. Texas is 
a new country, of rich soil and mild climate, presenting great 
facilities to industrious emigrants. The country was recently 
ravaged by a relentless enemy, carrying fire, sword, and 
desolation, and it is now laboring under numerous privations 
and sufferings. But those who desire to do good may here 
have an ample field. The fields are, indeed, ready for the 
harvest. It is true that the war, with frecpjent tidings of 
alarm, is calculated to engross much of the public mind, yet 
thev are willins: and even desirous of hearins: the word of 
life. ^^rVTierever any of us have been, we have met with a 
kind reception, and there seems to be a general willingness 
that the gospel shall spread in the land. The immoralities 
of some that have come here, professing to be ministers of 
Christ, have created prejudices, and caused some of the people 
to act cautiously toward preachers of the gospel. But it is a 
remarkable fact, that impostors in this community are very 
soon known, and persons of good standing in their own 
country are very soon duly estimated. I have travelled five 
or six hundred miles in Texas, full of bright hope that the 
great Head of the Church will give peace to this land, and 
here extend the 2:lories of his kin2:dom. It is necessary to 



MARTIN RUTER. 851 

travel, in this country, through forests and immense prairies, 
without seeing a house, and but few animals, except flocks 
of geese, turkeys, deer, some wolves, and wild horses. The 
storms on the prairies are often very severe, and sometimes 
of long continuance. They who come to labor in Texas must 
not expect to dwell in palaces, nor be carried on ^flowery beds 
of ease,' but they may enjoy great peace of mind, and cherish 
a joyful hope of doing much good." 

In his first letter to his wife, dated Dec. 15, he says : " It is 
only eighteen or twenty months since the Mexican army, of 
eight thousand, overran a great part of this country, destroy- 
ing houses, furniture, and provisions. The accommodations, 
of course, are often poor. Many of the houses are cabins, 
without glass windows, and with but little furniture. The 
chief food is corn-bread, sweet potatoes, and meat. Butter, 
cheese, and milk are scarce. Though I find it necessary to 
dispense with most of the luxuries and comforts of life, yet 
how glorious the privilege of doing good among the destitute ! 
In San Augustin the people have subscribed between three 
and four thousand dollars toward building a Methodist 
church. At a late camp-meeting, a Missionary Society was 
formed, and about six hundred dollars subscribed for mis- 
sions." 

In a letter to Dr. Bangs, (probably the last letter he ever 
wrote, as it was dated April 26th,) he says : " My health was 
uniformly good till the first of the present month. Since 
that time I have been afflicted with a fever, which I hope is 
now nearly subdued. It is supposed to have been produced 
by fatigue, and by riding too much in the sun. My travels 
on horseback have exceeded two thousand two hundred 
miles, and may have been, in some instances, too great for my 
strength. My object has been to visit as much of the country 



352 BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

as practicable, and to supply with occasional preaching all 
the destitute places my time and strength would permit. 
And when we consider the change of climate, new state of 
the country, and the privations which are unavoidable, it is 
surprising that our health has been, thus far, preserved. It 
has pleased the gread Head of the Church to smile upon our 
feeble efforts, enabling us to say, 'We know that our labor is 
not in vain in the Lord.' Even here, in the lands where 
hostile armies recently met in dreadful conflict, and where 
the thunders of battle were heard, where we still hear of war 
and rumors of war, the Prince of Peace is extending his 
peaceful kingdom. And let it extend ! O, let it spread 
rapidly here, and in other regions, until the angel shall pro- 
claim that the kingdoms of this world are become the king- 
doms of our Lord!" 

His last letter to his wife bore date April 23, and was 
written at his dictation by a friend. It is as follows : 

"When I last wrote to you, I expected to see you before 
writing again. Since the 4th of this month my health has 
been declining. A light fever has been affecting me, which 
is generally increased by any effort on my part. I had 
started with a traveller for Ped river, intending to take a 
steamboat for 'New Albany, and after travelling about fifty 
miles I found the fever very much augmented, and, undesira- 
ble as it was, the only safe course seemed to be to return 
to this town. Here I have two physicians — Dr. Manly, re- 
cently fi^om Alabama, and Dr. Smith, of this place. Dr. 
Manly, who has the principal care of me, is known for his 
eminence as a minister and a physician, and spares nothing 
for my recovery or comfort. Thus situated, I have every thing 
but ho7ne — that you know I never can have except where you 
are. The wives of Drs. Manly and Smith, together with 



MARTIN RUTEE. 353 

others, show me great kindness. I judge from the knowledge 
I have of this fever, and that I had at Cincinnati, that if 
these physicians had been with me then, they would think 
the prospects, at least, as favorable now as they were then. 
Indeed, I could now write this letter, which I could not have 
done in the former sickness, but Dr. Manly would advise 
strongly against any such effort, and my own judgment 
denies me any such privilege. Such is the nature of these 
fevers. Dr. Manly thinks my recovery must necessarily be 
slow. I am aware of the disappointment this communication 
must make to you, to the family, and to our friends generally, 
but I commend you and them to the mercies of the great 
Head of the Church, now and for ever." 

Some extracts from his private journal will here be in 
place. "April 1, Sunday. Preached in the morning and 
evening to the white people ; in the afternoon to the blacks. 
This was a day of comfort. Monday, 2. Eode to Brother 
Kesee's. Tuesday, 3. To Mr. Cochran's. This day makes 
me fifty-three years of age, and I this day set out to devote 
myself more than ever to God ; first, by more prayer; second, 
by more attention to the Scriptures ; third, by general read- 
ing and meditation. "Wednesday, 4. Rode to Mr. Ayres's. 
Thursday, 5. Eode to Mr. Cochran's and attended a marriage. 
Friday, 6. Eode to Mr. Bracey's. Saturday, 7. Being afflicted 
with fever, rode to Mr. Ayres's, and then to Bro. Kenny's. 
Sunday, 8. TJoo ill to preach, and Brother Kenny went to my 
appointment, and preached in my stead. Sunday evening. 
Find myself better, and my mind stayed on God, to whose 
service I hope to be devoted for ever. Monday, 9. Eode 
to Mr. Ayres's : still unwell and under temptation. Tuesday 
evening. To Mr. Eabb's. Wednesday, 11. To Mr. Kesee's. 
Feel somewhat improved in health. Thursday. To Mr. J. 
23 



354 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Hall's, trying to recruit my strength.. Feel myself relieved 
in trusting in God, my only helper. Saturday, 14. Eode to 
"Washington, and found at the post office letters from home, 
which gave me great comfort. Consulted the physicians 
concerning my health. Sunday. Rode to James Hall's, and 
preached to an attentive audience : received one awakened 
sinner on trial ; then rode to Brother Kesee's. Monday. 
Amidst affliction, rode to Mr. Ayres's. Wednesday, 18. Rode 
to Brother Kesee's. Thursday, 19. Set off in company with 
a Brother Chapel for the Red river, on my way home. Found 
at night my illness increasing. Found Brother Chapel urgent 
to travel. Friday, 20. "We reached a Mr. River's, where we 
stayed through the night. Saturday, 21. So ill I thought it 
prudent to take an emetic, and advised Brother Chapel (as 
he was uneasy) to go on alone. He delayed till two o'clock, 
and, finding me no better, went on. Isow here I am with a 
threatening fever, among strangers. But my trust is in the 
Most High : his mercies are abundant, and live or die, 0, let 
me do and suffer his blessed will. I commit to him myself 
and dear family, wife and children, now and for ever. Amen. 
Sunday, 22. Found myself somewhat relieved, but perceived 
that my disease was settling upon my lungs, and thought 
there was danger of serious injury. Being entirely without 
medical aid or advice, and too ill to venture on my journey, 
it seemed judicious to return, if able, to Washington. Rode 
with more ease that I expected to Mr. Kenuard's, twenty 
miles. After resting there, I proceeded to Mr. Fanthorp's, 
eio:ht miles; then to Washino:ton, arrivins; there on Mondav, 
23, being seventeen miles. Feel much fatigued, but com- 
forted with the goodness of God. 0, how unsearchable his 
wisdom, and his ways past finding out !" 

This transcript is in his own handwriting, and is likely the 



MARTIN RUTER. 



355 



last ills pen ever traced. His disease seems to have been 
typhoid pneumonia, and he lingered until the 16th of May, 
when his spirit returned to God. Though far from home, 
and among comparative strangers, he seems to have had 
every attention and kindness possible, under the circum- 
stances. "When he left for Texas, he was in fine health, and 
seemingly in the prime of manly vigor, but was several years 
older than in the severe sickness he refers to at Cincinnati, 
consequently had less recuperative power — less chance to 
recover. The kind friends in Texas who ministered to his 
comfort in health, and watched around his sick-couch, have 
laid his numerous friends everywhere, and especially his 
immediate family, under lasting obligations of gratitude. 
Theirs was the dear privilege that his family would so much 
have coveted, of ministering to his wants, and receiving his 
parting adieu. 

In one of Miss McHenry's letters she says : My brother- 
in-law, with whom I reside, was an old acquaintance and 
friend of Dr. Ruter's, and meeting in this strange land, the 
way to his partiality seemed at once open, and we begged 
him to consider our home his home. We felt honored and 
blessed by his visits and instructions, and while we live shall 
retain a grateful sense of their value, and consider the friend- 
ship with which we were favored, for a few short months, as 
among the best gifts of Heaven. In this deep affliction you 
have the sympathy of the virtuous part of a whole community. 
And though it cannot les-sen your present bereavement, yet 
it cannot be unpleasant to reflect that a nation looked to him 
as her guide to religion and science, and that that nation 
mourns with you. Dr. Ruter enjoyed fine health during the 
winter. He shrunk from no fatigue, and housed himself 
from no storm which interfered with his plans. He pursued 



356 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



what he believed to be tbe path of duty witb systematic and 
unwavering perseverance and uniform cheerfulness. He was 
deeply interested in the moral renovation of Texas, and 
believed it quite practicable. He would ride several miles in 
a day, and preach sermons sometimes to not more than fifteen 
or twenty persons, in a little smoky cabin, with as much 
energy and fervor as I should have expected had he been 
addressing thousands in a splendid church. His work was 
his pleasure. It was common with him to ask permission to 
preach in places where he would stop in travelling. More 
than one housekeeper can testify to the interest with which 
she collected her family after supper to hear the word of 
instruction from his benevolent lips." 

The same lady says in another place : "Though so far from 
his family and native land, he has not gone like one in a land 
of strangers. He had every attention that the most anxious 
solicitude could bestow or kindness give ; and among his 
physicians were piety, learning, and skill." In another letter 
is the following: "Dr. Huter made his head -quarters at 
our house, and returned to it after every excursion. He 
often related anecdotes of his trip, characteristic of our new" 
and wild population, which showed the heartfelt welcome with 
which he was everywhere received. Indeed, he was looked 
to as one who was to raise us to a moral, religious, and 
literary stand among respectable nations ; and his sudden and 
unlooked-for demise was felt as a national calamity." 

The same writer says : " That his life was sacrificed in his 
efforts to advance the cause of religion, and improve the 
moral condition of Texas, is impressed on the mind of every 
one who witnessed his labors during the few months he spent 
in the country. The religion and the literature of Texas are 
alike indebted to his memory. With him originated the 



MARTIN RUTER. 357 

project of establishing a mission in our new and interesting 
republic. He laid the wants and claims of Texas before the 
Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
though some of its members regarded the mission to this 
country as premature, they yielded to his judgment, and 
accepted his oflered services. In the autumn of 1837 he 
came to Texas, and reached the interior of the country early 
in December. During a winter unusually severe for this 
climate, he rode constantly, and labored incessantly and un- 
tiringly, visiting towns, neighborhoods, and families, preach- 
ing in all cases where there were hearers, though his audience 
might consist of only a single family. It was his custom, when 
he stopped for the night, to inquire of the family, after the 
business of the evening was over, if they would hear preach- 
ing. He repeatedly preached, in such cases, to those who 
had never heard a sermon in Texas. Every village in his 
route was visited, in the hope of waking up an interest in 
favor of that religion of which he was a faithful minister. Of 
singularly happy manners and address, he made a deep and 
pleasing impression wherever he went. The gayest felt 
flattered by his notice, the most intelligent improved by his 
society, and the highest honored by his attention. The 
system and precision with which he attended to the objects 
of his mission, enabled him to complete the necessary ar- 
rangements for securing ground and erecting such houses of 
worship as the then new state of the country rendered prac- 
ticable. In Washington he persisted until he saw and 
preached in a little church, sufficient for the wants of the 
population, and whose walls were soon after consecrated 
anew by his own funeral-sermon. He was satisfied if a com- 
munity young and poor as Texas was built churches as 
good as their own dwelling-houses, confident that when the 



358 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

citizens could aflbrcl better dwellings, they would rebuild their 
liouses of worship. With him, also, originated the idea of 
establishing such an institution of learning in Texas as 
should qualify the youth of the country for filling stations of 
honor and usefulness, without their being compelled to go 
out of the country for education. For these desirable objects 
he came to this new, cheerless, and comfortless country, 
where not one family in ten could furnish him a separate 
sleeping- apartment, and in the face of privation, toil, and 
hardship, pursued his plans. He visited Houston, where the 
Congress was in session, applied to, and was encouraged by 
many of the leading men of the country to establish such a 
seat of learnino' as that alluded to. Liberal ofi:ers were made 
by several large landholders, until some six or seven leagues 
were pledged for the benefit of the institution, in the event 
of his removing to Texas. He went so far as to draw up 
several articles of a charter to be presented to the next Con- 
gress, styling the contemplated institution Bastrop University, 
intending to locate it at Bastrop. He purchased land, ar- 
ranged his family afiairs to remove, and when on the eve of 
returning to the United States for that purpose, remarked to 
a friend, that he had done all that he came to Texas to do, 
and would now plead her cause elsewhere ; would visit several 
of the Eastern and Northern cities before his return, and 
would present her moral wants, so as to enlist the good, the 
wise, and the wealthy in her cause. The spring of 1838 was 
unusually early and warm, and after the fatigue and expo- 
sure of the winter, his health failed. His composure, his 
patience, his resignation during weeks of suff'ering, so far 
from his family, were such as might have been expected in 
one who had devoted his whole life to that God in whom he 
trusted for eternal happiness. He said to a friend shortly 



MAETIN RUTER. 



359 



before liis death, ' AATiy be impatient ? I gave my family to 
God wben I left them, and the way to heaven is as short and 
plain from Texas as from any other spot.' " 

In a letter from Bishop Hedding to my husband, concern- 
ing his death, he says : " I always believed him to be an 
upright, holy man. I never knew him to turn aside from the 
path of righteousness and duty, nor ever heard of his doing 
so : no, never did I hear of his falling even into an act of 
imprudence. The cause of Christ always appeared to lie near 
his heart, and its advancement was manifestly the object 
of his labors. He commenced preaching when very young, 
but there were early developments of rare talents. So far as 
I had the means of knowing, he was highly esteemed by the 
people in every circuit, station, and district where he 
labored. I never knew him fail of acceptance and success in 
any place. God blessed the word spoken by him with ' signs 
following;' and many, I doubt not, are now in heaven, who 
received their first religious impressions through the instru- 
mentality of his ministry. Many others are yet living who 
can bear witness that he was a messenger of salvation to their 
■s.'suls. When he proposed, in conversation with me at the 
time of the General Conference of Cincinnati, in 1836, to go 
as a missionary to Texas, he seemed to be deeply affected 
with a sense of the importance of the work ; and his motives 
appeared to be such as those of a Christian minister should 
be in commencing such an undertaking. The following 
extracts of a letter I received from him, dated Cincinnati, 
April 26, 1837, will tend to show the views he entertained on 
that subject: 'I have determined to go to Texas, in conformity 
with the appointment contained in your letter. The college 
can now prosper in other hands, and to me it appears that I 
could do more good in Texas, or on some other mission, than 



360 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



in tlie college. I devoted two years to 'New Market "Wesleyan 
Academy, wliicli was removed to Wilbraliam, four or five 
years to Augusta College, and nearly four to the one at Mead- 
ville, all for the good of the Church, though a sacrifice on my 
part. If I can be released for a while, and be permitted to 
labor in the more active duties of the ministry, I shall be 
thankful.' " 

Here is a tribute to his memory from Bishop Morris : ''As 
we ascended the hill from the ferry on the west side, we 
entered the town of Washington. Having proceeded west to 
the middle of the town, we turned at right angles to the 
north, about three hundred yards, to the old graveyard, 
which is situated on a dry ridge in open woods. Our busi- 
ness was to seek out the grave of Dr. Ruter, the apostle of 
Methodism in Texas, who died at his post, May 16th, 1838. 
The mournful spot sought for was easily found without a 
guide, the grave being enclosed by a stone wall, and covered 
with a white marble slab, three feet wide and six long, with 
a suitable inscription. At the foot of the slab stands a small 
hickory tree, hung with Spanish moss, waving in the breeze 
over the charnel-house. When we read on the cold marble, 
' Thirty-seven years an Itinerant Minister of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and Superintendent of the first Mission of 
that Church in the Republic of Texas,' and then remembered 
that the same mission had already become a respectable Con- 
ference, and was still increasing, the thought arose, "Whereunto 
will this mission grow? and what cause of rejoicing must this 
be to its first superintendent for ever!" 

The Rev. Mr. Goode, speaking of Texas, says : " Here Me- 
thodism is pioneering, in her true character, and evidently 
exerting a happy influence in the formation of the character 
of this people. It is said that one of the late Texan envoys to 



MARTIN RUTER. 361 

the United States Government remarked, while in Washing- 
ton City, that ' The efforts of the Methodist ministry had done 
more toward securing respect for the laws, submission to 
courts of justice, regard to the sanctity of oaths, and conse- 
quently the general peace and good order of society, than any 
other influence that had ever been exerted.' So let it ever be 
tmly said of the Methodist ministry everywhere I But, solemn 
reflection, these blessings have not been attained for Texas 
without cost to the Church. In this land some of her most 
gifted and favorite sons have laid down their lives. Here fell 
our Ruter, our Poe and his pious companion : here their dust 
reposes, and hence will they arise in the morning of the 
resurrection. But they have left a monument in the hearts 
of a grateful people." 

The Rev. Mr. Alexander says : ''One week after his return 
to Washington, I heard of his illness, and went immediately 
to see him. I found him quite ill, but in a happy frame of 
mind, perfectly resigned to the will of God. I remained with 
him several days and nights, and such patience under afliic- 
tion I never witnessed before. We frequently engaged in 
prayer with him, and his whole soul seemed engaged in the 
exercise. At his request I preached for him one evening, a 
few friends being present. When he first proposed it, I 
hesitated for a moment. He immediately remarked, 'You 
may say to yourself, He has gone over the whole subject- 
matter of preaching so often, it would not interest him to 
hear it. 'Not so — the gospel is a treasure — this is what I 
need.' He continued perfectly in his senses till the last 
moment. A short time before he expired he fainted: after 
reviving, with uplifted hands and eyes, he said, ' Bless the 
Lord for that grace that has so long sustained and still sus- 
tains me !' He frequently expressed great concern for the 



362 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



prosperity of this mission, and of Zion at large. The Doctor 
was followed to the grave by a large concourse of citizens. 
He was greatly beloved, and his memory will be long 
cherished." 

An extract from the Eev. Mr. Fowler says : Dr. Ruter 
died at his post, as a faithful watchman on the walls of Zion. 
In this mysterious providence the Church has lost one of her 
first and most efficient ministers. But though a mighty man 
in Israel is fallen, he conquered as he fell, and has gone in 
deathless triumph to his reward in heaven. He now rests 
from his labors, and his works follow him." 

His death produced a sensation of deep sorrow throughout 
the Church, to all portions of which his long and devoted 
labors and eminent qualities had endeared him. The E'ew 
England Conference, within whose bounds his name was as 
ointment poured forth, was in session at Boston when the sad 
intelligence arrived. It was first announced from the pulpits 
on Sabbath morning, and was noticed by Drs. Fisk and 
Bascom in their discourses during the day, amidst the pro- 
found emotions of the people, many of whom had sat under 
his ministry. 

The following preamble and resolutions were introduced 
by Dr. Fisk, and passed unanimously by the Conference : 
"In view of the painful intelligence just communicated to 
the Conference by Bishop Soule, of the unexpected and 
afflicting death of that highly gifted, useful, and esteemed 
brother and fellow-laborer, Rev. Martin Enter, D.D., mis- 
sionary in Texas, and in view of the fact that Dr. Ruter 
formerly held a special relation to this Conference, having 
commenced his ministerial labors in 'New England, and 
having not only labored in unison with many of our surviving 
ministers, but was also honored by God in being the instru- 



MARTIN RUTER. 



363 



ment of the conversion of some wlio are now members of this 
Conference, we, the members of the 'New England Annual 
Conference, in Conference assembled, 

'•'Resolve, That we deeply feel this painful dispensation of 
Divine Providence in the removal of one with whom many 
of us were allied by personal and friendly ties, and whose loss 
is so great an affliction to the Church of Christ. "We honor 
the memory of the deceased, we feel humbled under a sense 
of this providential chastisement, and most earnestly suppli- 
cate the Divine blessing upon us and upon the Church, that 
this visitation may be sanctified to us, and to the advance- 
ment of the cause of God in general, and of the missionary 
work in particular." 

Resolutions, commemorative of his worth, were also passed 
by the Pittsburg Conference and the Alleghany College, as 
with both he was identified up to the last year of his life. 

Dr. Manly, one of the physicians of the deceased, the 
day after his death wrote to his widow as follows: "It falls 
to my lot to first communicate to you the painful intel- 
ligence that the Rev. Dr. M. Puter, your husband, is now no 
more — yours or ours. He departed this life between two and 
three o'clock on the morning of the 16th instant, full of that 
faith and grace which had buoyed him up through the labors 
of a minister and missionary for the last thirty-seven years. 
He has travelled amongst us since last fall, organizing 
societies, forming circuits, and establishing and spreading 
the gospel over this wilderness, with such zeal for the cause 
of God as caused him to disregard long rides, cold, hunger, 
wet, much preaching, or any other obstacle that might pre- 
sent itself. He has seemed to have but one motive — to do 
his work and finish his course in peace. But, 0, how soon 
it has been done ! The Doctor complained of a feverish con- 



36-i 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



dition and bad liealtli for some weeks before he was confined 
to his bed, and often spoke of setting out for home, but was 
fearful to do so until he felt better ; but at length he started, 
and rode one day and part of another ; and becoming too sick 
to travel, he took medicine, and on feeling better next morn- 
ing, he determined that it was best for him to return to this 
place to procure medical aid, and to be amongst his friends. 
He did so, and remained able to walk about a little a day or 
two, and was then confined to his bed. Dr. Smith and 
myself were his principal physicians, having also the aid of 
several others occasionally, that we might leave nothing 
undone that could promise him any relief; but all to no 
purpose, I watched over him as physician and friend for 
three weeks, and often, during that time, we prayed and held 
sweet counsel together ; and his firm confidence^ his communion 
ivith God, his religious joy, his entire resignation to the will of 
Heaven, and his ardent concern for the welfare of the Church, 
made a deep and lasting impression upon my own heart. 
My dear sister, we would sympathize with you, but, at the 
same time, are almost inclined to say that our loss, and the 
loss of this country, is greater than yours. As an individual, 
I had the happiness of but a short acquaintance with Dr. 
Enter, but we loved him much. Let us not weep: he has 
gone to his rest, and we, if faithful, will soon follow. His 
disease was a pulmonary afi'ection, in which the liver and 
bowels were largely involved, brought on by severe colds, 
etc. TTe have buried his remains as respectably as this 
country could afiord, in the midst of the deep anxieties of 
our town and community, and we shall enclose his grave 
with a decent wall and a suitable monument, as the last 
tribute of respect that we have the privilege and pleasure of 
offering." 



MARTIN RUTER. 



365 



Dr. Enter was self-educated, but acquired a good acquaint- 
ance with Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, the Mathematics, 
History, and other branches of knowledge. He was honored 
spontaneously with the titles of A. M. and D. D. He was an 
assiduous student while pursuing the fatiguing routes of his 
itinerant ministry, and is, like Adam Clarke, an example of 
the success with which even elaborate studies may be pursued 
under the inconveniences of such a life. In person he was 
substantially formed, and dignified in his manners. He had 
the affability of the Christian gentleman. His voice was 
unusually melodious, and his love of music strong. In the 
pulpit he was grave, pathetic, and often commandingly elo- 
quent. He lived in habitual communion with God, and his 
piety, ever reverential yet cheerful, gave the charm of a pure 
Christian cordiality to his whole character. 

In 1848 the Eev. Mr. Thrall writes : " It is now almost ten 
years since this distinguished scholar and devoted missionary 
breathed his last in Washington. A few mornings since, I 
visited the spot hallowed by becoming the resting-place of 
his mortal remains. By the exertions of our beloved brother, 
the Eev. E. Alexander, a beautiful marble slab was procured 
and placed over his grave. It bears an inscription from the 
pen of Dr. Winans." 

The epitaph will be found on the following page. 



366 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



BENEATH THIS STONE 
REST 

THE MORTAL REMAINS 
OF 

EEV. ]\IARTIN RUTER, D.D., 

37 TEARS AN ITINERANT MINISTER 
OF THE 

Methodist Episcopal Church, 

AND 

Superintendent of the first Mission or that Church 

IN 

THE Republic op Texas. 

HE WAS 

RESPECTABLE FOR HIS TALENTS, 
DISTINGUISHED FOR HIS LEARNING, 
AND 

SINCERELY AND DEVOUTLY PIOUS. 
HE DIED IN THIS ToWN, MaY 16tH, 1838, 

IN THE 54th Year of his Age. 

HIS END WAS peace. 
HE LEFT A WIDOW AND NINE CHILDREN, 
WITH WHOSE SORROWS 
THOUSANDS SYiMPATHIZE, 
AMONG WHOM THE ASSOCIATES AND OBJECTS 
OF HIS MISSIONARY BENEVOLENCE 
ARE PRINCIPAL. 

Well done, thou servant of the Highest! 

Thy work is done, and thou art blest ; 
Beneath Jehovah's wing thou liest. 

Protected in thy quiet rest. 

Soon, when the resurrection-day shall rise, 
The trump of Gabriel thou shalt hear. 

Burst from thy grave with glad surprise, 
And with the saints of light appear. 

In honor clad, with glory crowned. 
To hear the approval of thy King, 

And join the raptured hosts around. 
The triumphs of his grace to sing. 




1 
I 



WILLIAM W. REDMAN. 



36T 



WILLIAM W. REDMAN". 

BY THE REV. ANDREW MONROE. 

William W. Redman was bom in the ISTortliwestern Terri- 
tory, now Clark County, Indiana, December 14tli, 1799. His 
parents were both pious, being members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and, as a natural consequence, felt a deep 
concern for the spiritual and eternal welfare of their off- 
spring, and labored, both by precept and example, to "bring 
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Hence 
their son William was in early life led to an acquaintance 
with the great fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and 
made familiar with the peculiarities of Methodism, as taught 
and exemplified by Havens, Wiley, Ruter, and other pioneers 
of Methodism in the West. 

Besides the advantages of pious parental instruction, young- 
Redman had the counsel and fervent prayers of the devoted 
itinerant preachers who often, in their peregrinations through 
the country in those early days, lodged at his father's house. 
Through these instrumentalities he was early brought to see 
and feel his sinfulness and lost condition, and need of par- 
doning mercy through Christ. According to his own state- 
ment, for the space of several years he often prayed and 
wept on account of sin, although he was not addicted to any 



368 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



flagrant vices; yet lie says of liimself, ^'I had a rebellious 
will and a proud heart, and thought more highly of myself 
than I ought to think." Thus he continued to be exercised, 
resolving, vowing, and praying, until, in the seventeenth 
year of his age, he was permitted, in the good providence of 
God, to hear that weeping prophet, that eminent servant of 
God and the Church, Bishop George, preach from the latter 
part of our Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from evil," etc. Un- 
der that discourse his convictions became deep, and his pur- 
pose to seek and serve God became settled ; his heart melted ; 
his feelings were deeply wrought on while the man of God 
spake as with a tongue of fire. He wrote down the heads of 
the discourse, and frequently read them over to revive and 
reawaken the feelings which it had produced. 

He continued in this state of awakening until September 
12th, 1817, when he attended a camp-meeting in Jefferson 
County, Kentucky, and there, while listening to a sermon 
from these words, "This man receiveth sinners," he was 
enabled to exclaim, " 0 Lord, I will praise thee : though 
thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and 
thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation : I will 
trust and not be afraid ; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
and my song." 

This meeting was held near Middletown, in the neighbor- 
hood of the Eev. James "Ward. In the labors and privileges 
of that meeting the writer of this sketch participated. He 
remembers to have heard Mr. Eedman speak of seeing and 
hearing him, and being assisted by him ; but who preached 
the sermon under which he was converted, cannot be said 
with certainty. It was probably the presiding elder, the Eev. 
Marcus Lindsey, who was a great and good man in his day, 
and did much to advance the cause of God and Methodism 



WILLIAM W. REDMAN. 



369 



in Kentiick}'. He died of cholera in 1832 or 1833, in the 
midst of his best days. The pious, useful, and sweet-spirited 
Adams was present, and labored with others on that memora- 
ble occasion. 

That the lives and labors of Lindsey and Adams deserve a 
more extended and permanent notice than has been given 
them, is the judgment of the writer ; but their record is on 
high, and their works follow them. 

Shortly after Mr. Redman had professed religion and 
joined the Church, he was persuaded that God had a work 
for him to do, and that a dispensation of the gospel was 
committed to him. He was accordingly licensed to exhort 
December 17th, 1819, and on the 10th of June following, he 
was licensed to preach as a local preacher. Both of his 
licenses are signed by the Rev. Calvin Ruter, as presiding 
elder. 

But young Redman was destined for a larger field of 
action. With a heart burning with holy fire, he was con- 
strained by the love of Christ to give himself wholly to the 
work of the ministry ; and yet this decision was not reached 
without a struggle. It was no small trial, in those days, 
for a young man of ordinary advantages to become an itin- 
erant preacher. To say nothing about the surrender of all 
prospect of worldly gain, abandonment of home, and the 
like, there were then no large cities and towns, with rich 
stations, districts, and circuits already organized, with com- 
modious and comfortable houses of worship to preach in, 
and ceiled and carpeted houses to lodge the weary preacher. 
Let any man reflect on what Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and 
Arkansas were thirty-five or forty years since, and he can 
imagine what lay before young Redman and many others 
who entered the itinerant ranks in our Church about the 
24 



370 BIOGRAPniCAL SKETCHES. 

same time. A vast wilderness, dark in every point of view, 
was spread out before tliem. But the love of Christ, and a 
desire to save souls for whom he died, decided the contest. 

On the 14th of September, having been duly recommended 
as a candidate to this great work, he was admitted on trial 
in the Missouri Conference, which at that time included the 
greater portion of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. 
The following are the districts as then arranged: Indiana 
District, with a membership of 3492 whites, 16 colored mem- 
bers ; Illinois District, with a membership of 1864 whites, 7 
colored members ; Missouri District, with a membership of 
1395 whites, 148 colored members ; Black Hiver District, 
with a membership of 511 whites, 25 colored members. 

Brother Hedman's first appointment w^as to the "White 
Eiver Circuit, Arkansas Territory, in the Black Eiver Dis- 
trict, Brother Wright presiding elder. To reach this distant 
field must have cost him a journey of at least five hundred 
miles. His route lay through a newly settled country, and a 
part of the way through a wilderness. Settlements were then 
few and far between ; accommodations were rough ; and the 
difficulties and dangers of the way were greatly augmented 
by the entire absence of bridges and roads. So far as the 
writer is advised, the young preacher made the journey soli- 
tary and alone to his new field of labor. It is likely that he 
formed the Circuit, as it does not appear on the minutes of 
that year : if so, this greatly increased his responsibility and 
perplexity. 

The great distance between his appointments sometimes 
compelled him to lodge in the wilderness, with the canopy 
of heaven as his covering, his horse as his only companion, 
and his saddlebags for his pillow. On such occasions the 
bear, the wolf, and the panther were about his path. On one 



WILLIAM W. REDMAN. 



371 



occasion, as lie related to me, lie was greatly alarmed in the 
darkness of the niglit, when compelled to lodge in the open 
wilderness. Having secured his horse for the night, he laid 
himself down, with his saddlebags for his pillow. He had 
lain but a few minutes when the sudden terrific scream of a 
panther brought him to his feet : with great difficulty he 
held his horse, and for awhile he expected the bloodthirsty 
animal would rend him in pieces ; but without any assignable 
cause, the dangerous foe retired, his affrighted horse became 
quiet, and he passed the remainder of the night in safety. 
In the morning he paid his devotions to the God of Daniel, 
who had delivered him from so great danger, and soon 
found his way to the cabin of the pioneer settler, who cor- 
dially entertained him with his simple fare, and then he 
went on his way rejoicing. 

As to the result of his labors on this Circuit we know 
nothing, except what we gather from the printed minutes. 
These show that he returned a regular circuit, with a mem- 
bership of 138 white and 18 colored members — a good year's 
work, considering the sparseness of the population, and the 
condition of the country. 

That section of the work was considered a very sickly one, 
and nearly all the preachers who labored there suffered seri- 
ously, and some never recovered entirely from the effects of 
climate and exposure ; but I believe Brother Eedman was an 
exception, and came out unscathed. 

The following year he was appointed to the Gasconade 
Circuit. This was in the bounds of the Missouri District. 
The Eev. Samuel Thompson was his presiding elder. This 
was also a hard field of labor, lying in a sparsely-settled, 
mountainous region of country, south of the Missouri Eiver, 
cliiefiy on the waters of the Burbes and Gasconade rivers. 



372 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

On this Circuit, as on tlie iirst lie travellecl, he had to hunt 
out among the valleys and hills of the Gasconade his preach- 
ing-places, and form his own Circuit. As the result of his 
labors, he reported 25 white and 15 colored members. 

He formed an attachment this rear for his presiding elder 
which continued through life — and no marvel, for who that 
ever knew Samtiel H. Thompson did not love him ? To the 
YOung preachers, and his companions in labors and suffer- 
ings, he always endeared himself. Full of goodness, and a 
large sympathetic heart, always ready for the battle and the 
most diffictilt and dangerous positions, he won the confidence 
and affections of his fellow -laborers in the kino-dom and 
patience of Jesus. 

At the close of his second year, Brother IRedman was 
elected to Deacon's orders by the first Conference held in St. 
Lotiis. Cctober, IS'2'2, and ordained by Bishop Eoberts. 

The following year we find him on the Boonslick Circuit, 
in the same district as last year, the Eev. David Sharp 
being presiding elder. Here he found a membership of 126 
white and 20 colored members. This circuit embraced the 
cotmties of Howard and Chariton and a part of Eandolph 
and Boone. This was a large territory to be explored in 
four weeks : much of it was frontier work ; yet in regard to 
comforts, helps, etc., this appointment was greatly in advance 
of the former. Xothing of special notice transpired in his 
itinerant career : he was diligent, acceptable, and, to some 
extent, useful in his field of labor. He rettirned an increase 
of 66 white and 9 colored members. I have heard him speak 
in terms of respect and strong attachment for his presiding 
elder of that year, but as Brother Sharp remained but one 
year in the far "West, their accpiaintance was of short dti- 
ration. 



WILLIAM W. EE D MAN. 373 

At the eusiiiug Conference lie was appointed in cliarge of 
the Boonslick and Cedar Creek Circuit, with Joseph Edmon- 
son for his colleague. This arrangement greatly enlarged 
his territorial bounds, and also his labors and responsibility. 
His colleague was a most estimable young man, of superior 
mind and great promise. They were true-yokefellows, and 
labored together with great success. This was young Ed- 
monson's first year. He lived to attain considerable emi- 
nence for talents, piety, and usefulness, and died in the 
triumphs of faith. I think his death occurred about the year 
1844. He was a member of the Hlinois Conference, loved 
and lamented by his brethren. 

At the close of this year Brother Redman attended the 
Conference, and was elected and ordained elder. The ordi- 
nation services were performed by Bishop Soule, in the pre- 
sence of Bishops McKendree and Roberts. The Conference 
held its sessions at Padfield's camp-ground, St. Clair County, 
Illinois; and here the writer again met with the subject of 
this sketch, having been transferred from the Kentucky Con- 
ference to the Missouri. 

On many accounts this was a memorable session of the 
Conference. The presence and preaching of three bishops 
gave interest and importance to the occasion. The funeral 
sermon of the lamented Beauchamp, a minister of uncom- 
mon ability, piety, and usefulness, and a member of the 
Conference, was delivered by Bishop Soule at this session. 
It was one of his happiest efforts. But the most remarkable 
and affecting incident of the occasion was the division of the 
Conference, under the action of the General Conference of 
that year. The time had now come when this pioneer band 
must be separated, to meet no more on earth. That portion 
of the original Conference lying west of the Mississippi 



3T-i BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

Eiver, retained tlie original name. The subject of this 
sketch, as well as the writer, fell on the west side of the 
great river, in the bounds of the Missouri Conference. 

Brother Eedman's next appointment was Cedar Creek Cir- 
cuit, where he labored with acceptability and usefulness. 
But here, as well as elsewhere in Missouri, Methodism met 
with formidable opposition. The Aiian heresy prevailed to 
some extent. The doctrine of Barton Stone was embraced 
by many, having been transplanted by a tide of emigration 
from Kentucky. The Baptists were numerous, and had pre- 
occupied the ground with their doctrine of immersion, and 
the exclusive spirit which characterizes so many of that 
denomination. The opposition was manifested in various 
ways, and the spirit and practice of proselyting was common. 
Bigoted partisans not unfrequently availed themselves of our 
labors to build up their own sect. Brother Eedman had 
many hard trials from this source, both in this and the 
Boonslick Circuit. Our preachers then were few and far 
between ; and this gave the ministers of the denominations 
referred to a favorable opportunity of carrying otit their pro- 
se]}i:ing schemes. Brother Redman, however, contended 
manfttlly for the faith, and sotils were won to Christ. The 
minutes, nevertheless, show a small decrease in the numbers 
reported at the close of the year. 

This year the Conference was held at a place called 'New 
Tennessee, St. Genevieve County, Missouri. Brother Eed- 
man was one of the little band of pioneers at that Confer- 
ence — sixteen in number — ^uth the beloved Bishop Eoberts 
at our head. TTe were entertained by some kind friends, 
who encamped on the ground which had been prepared for 
the occasion. 

The room which we used for the sessions of our Confer- 



WILLIAM ^Y. REDMAM. 375 i 

ence was a dilapidated cabin, at some distance from the 
camp-ground. Brother Redman's health having in a mea- 
sure failed, he received a supernumerary relation at this Con- j 
ference, and was appointed to Boonslick and Lamoine Cir- j 
cuits, the one lying north and the other south of the Missouri I 
Eiver, to labor as he might be able. Uriel Hawe was his ■ 
colleague. The position of the two Circuits, separated as 
they were by the river, rendered it both embarrassing and ; 
laborious, especially for a man in feeble health like Brother ■ 
Eedman. Some, perhaps, at this distance of time, may 
think this a very singular arrangement of the work, but a j 
sufficient explanation is found in the fact that we had only j 
some sixteen or twenty preachers to occupy a territory now 
embracing some four Annual Conferences. i 
At the Conference held for 1826, he asked and obtained a | 
location. This step, which he and his brethren deeply re- | 
gretted, he felt impelled to take from the force of circum- j 
stances as then presented to his mind. He had married j 
within the bounds of the Boonslick Circuit, some three years | 
prior to this. He found himself with a growing family, both ' 
white and black, too numerous, as he supposed, to remove 
from place to place, and yet too young to leave alone for any 
considerable time. Moreover, it was difficult for a man with 

I 

a family to get a support : the membership was small, and \ 
generally new settlers, with but little means, and, of course, 
not much to spare for ministerial support. Besides this, 
there was some opposition to married preachers, and espe- 
cially to those who had married before they had time and ex- 
perience to mature their minds and attain to a standing to 
which every minister should aspire before assuming the bur- ^ 
dens and responsibilities of the marriage relation. | 
In the local relation he remained two years. At the Con- j 



376 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

ference of 1828 he was readmitted into tlie Missouri Confer- 
ence, and was appointed to tlie Lamoine Circuit. He was 
blessed in his labors, and now felt that he was in the path of 
duty. He had tried a local sphere, and found it an unplea- 
sant position for him, while he felt that his call implied en- 
tire consecration to the great work of saving souls. Many 
who have made the experiment know full well that his was 
no isolated case. 

Froni the Conference of 1829, he was appointed to the 
Cedar Creek Circuit. He had for his colleague William 
Crane, with whom he labored harmoniously in their Master's 
cause. Brother Redman was not the man who could not 
work except in the lead, but wherever duty called he was 
ready to do his best, and lay himself out for the accomplish- 
ment of good in the cause of humanity and religion. 

At the end of this year, circumstances of a most perplexing 
character again seemed to hedge up his w^ay, and he was 
once more driven from the ranks of the itinerancy. It was 
with no ordinary reluctance that he again asked for a loca- 
tion, wdiich was granted him. 

In this relation he remained two years, when, feeling dis- 
satisfied in it, he applied at the Conference held September, 
1832, and was readily readmitted by his brethren, who loved 
him and sympathized with him in his troubles. At this Con- 
ference he was appointed to the Lamoine Circuit. 

In the autumn of 1833 he was again appointed to Cedar 
Creek Circuit, where he labored with great acceptableness 
and signal success. 

At the ensuing Conference of 1834, he was again appointed 
to Boonslick Circuit, where he was perhaps more popular 
than at any previous appointment. The inquiry will perhaps 
be made, "Why keep a preacher for so many years on some 



WILLIAM W. REDMAN. 377 

three circuits ? The answer is, first, he was not prepared to 
remove to distant parts of the Conference ; secondly, the 
circuits were not prepared to do without his valuable ser- 
vices ; and, thirdly, his services were always acceptable and 
useful — never more so than at the last appointments to these 
several circuits. 

In the autumn of 1835, he was appointed in charge of the 
Boonville District, on which he remained two years. In this 
appointment nothing of special interest has come to our 
knowdedge. He was called to new duties and responsibilities, 
which he faithfully discharged. 

At the Conference of 1837, held in St. Louis, he was 
appointed agent for the St. Charles College. In this work 
he remained two years. It was a hard service, and an 
appointment that no one desired. 

His success in behalf of the College was limited ; but per- 
haps no one would have done more under the circumstances 
than he did, although he was far from being satisfied with 
the result of his efforts. He collected some debts due the 
College, and added some sixteen hundred dollars to the en- 
dowment fund. He thought that he ought to have added 
thousands, whereas he only added hundreds. But his failure 
was not attributable to a want of talents or industry in his 
agency, but to a combination of circumstances wholly be- 
yond his control. His ill-success in the matter induced him, 
before the close of the second year, with the advice and con- 
sent of the Board of Curators, to give up the duties of the 
agency; and he w^as employed until Conference on the 
Boonslick Circuit, where he was instrumental in carrying 
forward a most gracious revival of religion at Watts's Chapel. 
I have heard him speak of it as a time of remarkable power. 
He said that he experienced singular manifestations of God's 



378 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

love to liim. An eye-witness told me that Brother Redman 
was entirely overpowered, so that he lay for hours upon the 
ground as helpless as an infant. Some of the fruits of that 
meeting remain until the present, but others are gathered 
with the honored instrument to the garner of God. 

At the Conference of 1839, held in Fayette, Brother Red- 
man was appointed presiding elder of the Richmond District. 
This was a laborious field, being almost wholly frontier work, 
requiring long travels, over hill and vale, across vast prairies, 
without roads in numerous instances, save a narrow bridle- 
way, as the pioneers call it. In some places he was com- 
pelled to hold his quarterly meetings in log-cabins. On some 
such occasions the chapel was kitchen, dining-room, parlor, 
and bed-chamber for the family and guests. But he was not 
the man to complain, although the fare might be simple and 
coarse, and he might not always be invited to rest his weary 
body upon a bed of down. 

He continued in this field four years, during which time 
he proved himself worthy of the trust committed to his 
hands, and did much to build up and establish Methodism in 
the bounds of that large District, and never was our dear 
brother more beloved by preachers and people. His j)opu- 
larity was greatly increased, and deservedly so. 

After closing his labors in this District, and bidding adieu 
to the people of his charge — many of whom had been con- 
verted through his ministry — he met his brethren again in 
Conference, which was held that year in Lexington, Missouri. 
As usual, he was elected Secretary of the Conference, and 
filled the ofiice with great acceptableness. At this session he 
was elected a delegate to the General Conference of 1844. 

This session of the General Conference proved to be the 
most remarkable in our history, and in 'his connection with 



WILLIAM W. REDMAN. 



379 



tlie struggle of that occasion, lie proved liimself worthy the 
respect shown him by his brethren. 

At the Conference at Lexington he was appointed to the 
"Weston District, on which he remained but one year. He 
was then put on the St. Louis District, where he labored with 
some degree of usefulness for two years. During this period 
he was bereaved of the wife of his youth. She was a good 
woman, and died in peace. 

In 1845 he was elected a delegate to the G-eneral Confer- 
ence, which met in Petersburg, Virginia, being the first 
General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South. At that Conference the Missouri Conference was 
divided by the Missouri River — that part south of the river 
was called St. Louis Conference, the other part retaining the 
original name. Brother Redman preferred the Missouri Con- 
ference, and was accordingly changed, and put in charge of 
the St. Charles District, by Bishop Paine, where he labored 
with his usual zeal, popularity, and usefulness for three suc- 
cessive years. During this period he reentered the state of 
matrimony. His second wife w^as an excellent lady. 

At the Conference held in Fulton, Calloway County, in 
1849, he was reappointed for the fourth year to the same 
district ; and elected a delegate to the General Conference of 
1850 — which may be considered as proof of his general popu- 
larity, the confidence of the appointing power, and the strong 
hold which he had in the afiections of his brethren, and their 
estimate of his ability to serve them in the highest council 
of the Church. 

At the close of the Conference he proceeded to enter upon 
the labors of another year in good health and spirits. But 
how mysterious and inscrutable the ways of God ! Brother 
Eedman had arranged his first round of appointments, and 



380 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 

was about to commence (as he supposed) another year's toil 
in his Master's vinej-arcl, when the Lord said to his servant, 
"It is enough!" How unexpected the call, both to himself 
and others ! "When, with that earnest grip and warm heart 
so common to Methodist preachers at the parting scene of 
an Annual Conference, he shook the hands of his brethren, 
little did he think it would be the last — little did we think 
we should see his face no more on earth ! But it was even so ! 

He died at home, in the bosom of his family. His disease 
was an affection of the heart. He was taken ill on Sabbath, 
while preaching a funeral sermon, three miles from home, 
October 29th, 1849. While preaching he fainted away. 
After some time he was resuscitated and conveyed home, 
where he had good medical advice, and every attention from 
his family and friends that could contribute to his comfort 
and relief. He rested pretty well the first part of the night : 
got up at three o'clock; asked for some tea, with which he 
ate some bread ; said he felt comfortable ; and requested his 
w^ife to extinguish the light and retire to rest. She did so ; 
but very soon discovered his breathing to be unnatural, and 
made haste to light a candle, and go to his relief. But she 
could not save him. A few more pulsations, and his heart 
ceased to beat, his spirit departed, and nothing was left on 
earth but the casket in which the precious treasure had been 
deposited ! 

Brother Eedman was a good man. He was a kind hus- 
band and tender parent — perhaps a little too indulgent for 
the good of his children ; but he loved and cared for them, 
and strove hard to educate and bring them up in the right way. 
He was brought up to habits of industry. He learned the 
printing business when young, and had, at the commence- 
ment of his itinerant career, a respectable English education. 



WILLIAM W. EEDMAN. 



381 



to wliicli lie added a considerable stock of useful knowledge 
by reading. 

He was an acceptable preacher. He took pains in prepar- 
ing himself to defend the peculiar doctrines and polity of 
the Church, which he did with great success. Few preachers 
of his day were better prepared to expose the prevailing 
errors of the times. He wrote a series of able articles on the 
dogmas of the Rev. Alexander Campbell and his followers, 
which were published in the Church papers, and were exten- 
sively read and highly esteemed. He sometimes felt him- 
self called to oppose the peculiar views of the Baptists, 
and never failed to make his mark. Although he managed 
these controversies with great earnestness, he seldom if ever 
gave offence to the opposing party, owing to the mildness of 
temper and sweetness of spirit in which he conducted them. 
He also published a sermon on Ministerial Support that 
speaks well for his ability as a writer. His piety was deep 
and fervent. He was a man of much prayer. In the social 
circle he was cheerful, but never light — sober, but not aus- 
tere — dignified, but never assuming. He sought not only to 
render his company agreeable but edifying. He was a 
devoted Christian, a faithful and useful minister for more 
than thirty years. He was continually humbled in view of 
his own frailties and imperfections, and felt that he needed 
the all-prevailing mediation of the Saviour, as also the sym- 
pathy and forbearance of his brethren. But "he rests from 
his labors, and his works do follow him." 

I will close this brief sketch with a few extracts from a 
letter just received from an estimable minister of the Mis- 
souri Conference, the Rev. William A. Mayhew, dated 
Mexico, Missouri, February 25th, 1858. He says : 

"My acquaintance with Brother Redman commenced at 



382 



BIOGPtAPniCAL SKETCHES. 



the session of the Missouri Conference held at Glasgow, in 
the autumn of IB-IT. His kind manner toward me during 
the session of that Conference, the first I ever attended, as 
well as his warm-hearted generosity at the close of the ses- 
sion, made a deep impression on mv mind, and will always, 
I trust, be remembered with gratefulness. From that time 
to the period of Brother Eedman's death, a little more than 
two years, I had the pleasure of having him as my presiding 
elder. At the Conference of 1847 I was appointed to the 
jSTew London Mission, which then embraced a portion of two 
counties, Ealls and Pike, and was one of the charges com- 
posing the St. Charles District, over which our beloved Red- 
man then presided. After the first six months of the year 
had passed, it was found necessary to connect the Mexico 
Mission with the Xew London, in order to afford them 
preaching and pastoral care, and Brother Eedman procured 
the services of the Rev. R. C. Ilatton as the assistant 
preacher. In consecpience of that arrangement, there were 
two sets of quarterly meetings, so that we frequently enjoyed 
the counsels and ministry of Brother Redman, and we always 
found liim kind and willing to give information in regard to 
our theological studies, and also interested in the temporal 
comfort of the preachers in his District. Many acts of his 
kindness in these regards, not only to myself, but also to 
Brother Ilatton, are still very clearly, and, I trust, kindly 
recollected. 

''He was punctual in attending his quarterly meetings, and 
his labors at them all were more or less blessed to the spirit- 
ual edification and religious encouragement of the preachers 
and membership of the Church. During this year we had 
two camp -meetings — one on the Xew London Mission, the 
other on the Mexico — and both were attended by Brother 



WILLIxlM W. E ED MAN. ' 383 

RGdnian. The ISTew London meeting was lield at Grass 
Creek Camp-ground, in Pike County. There were but few 
tenters, though a pretty large concourse of people was in 
attendance. The Church in that neighborhood, as to num- 
bers, was then very feeble. At this meeting Brother Ked- 
man preached with great acceptableness, usefulness, and 
success. He commenced his labors by preaching from Hab- 
akkuk iii. 2. That discourse made a very fine impression 
on those in attendance. Many points of his sermon on that 
occasion are yet remembered by me, and doubtless by others. 
This meeting: resulted in the conversion and accession to the 
Church of some twenty persons, and I have no doubt Brother 
Redman's labors contributed very largely, under the blessing 
of God, to that success. 

" The camp-meeting on the Mexico Mission was held one 
mile north-east of the town of Mexico, on the land of Brother 
J. J. West, and was the first held at that place. The Meth- 
odists at Mexico were then but a feeble baud, and it was not 
without some difficulty the meeting was gotten up. The 
tenters were few. It was attended, however, by quite a large 
concourse of people, and resulted in the conversion and 
accession to the Church of some twenty-seven persons, some 
of whom have since died, and are now, no doubt, reaping 
their reward in heaven, with him who was, in all probability, 
the instrument in the hands of God of their conversion. At 
this meeting Brother Eedman preached the funeral sermon of 
Sister Bay, of precious memory, long a member of the Meth- 
odist Church, and who had died a few months previous in the 
triumphs of faith, and in confident hope of a blissful immor- 
tality. Brother Redman's sermon was attended with unction, 
and made a powerful impression on the congregation, and 
one or two of Sister Day's sons were led to seek religion. 



384 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



About iifteen montlis from that time, worn down witli his 
labors, he quietly and calmly fell asleep in Jesus, and entered 
the rest for which he then toiled, and now realizes the full 
fruition of the joy which he, in that hour of Christian rejoic- 
ing, anticipated. 

I learn, through the brethren in Mexico, that at the camp- 
meeting held on the same ground in September, 1849, Bro- 
ther Redman's labors had more of the unction of the Holy 
Ghost about them, and were more signally owned and blessed 
of God in the building up of the Church and the conversion 
of sinners. He labored hard and long, until he was almost 
entirely worn down. Some fifty souls were converted. When 
we consider the newness of the country, sparseness of popula- 
tion, and prevalence of Campbellism, that meeting may be 
regarded a great triumph, and is very justly entitled the most 
powerful meeting ever held in this part of the country. 
Shortly after this, Brother Eedman attended the Conference 
held in Fulton, the last Conference he ever attended, and the 
last time I had the pleasure of seeing him. I could not but 
notice, at that Conference, his worn-down appearance, but 
did not suppose that he was so near the close of his earthly 
pilgrimage. 

" Brother Redman was endeared to me by many acts of 
kindness, as doubtless he was to many, very many others. I 
loved him as a friend, I might say almost as a father, asso- 
ciated as I was with him during the first years of my itinerant 
labor, and even now I feel grateful, and thank God that I ever 
was blessed with his counsels and shared in his friendship." 



THE END. 



I 

I 
i 



1 



i 



i 



1 

i 



I 



I 



] 





t" 

Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proces^ 
Neutralizing agent: IVIagnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2006 j ' 

Preservat ionlbchnologie: | 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATIOI |i 
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive ilg 
CFanberry Township, PA 16066 s' 
(724)779-2111 }|i 

h 



